Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Life Unbound
by ricejames
Summary: This is a continuation of the original storyline. Two years after the battle with Luther, Fayt can't shake the feeling that something bad is coming. Can he find the path again? This is going to be a HUGE narrative. Action/Comedy/Romance, this may become rated M later. Most likely FaytxNel or FaytxMaria, not sure yet.
1. Night Terror

This chapter is named after a song called Night Terror by: We Were Promised Jetpacks, listen while you read if you'd like, I suggest doing so.

This is a continuation of the story.

I don't own Star Ocean.

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Star Ocean: Life Unbound

Chapter One: Night Terror

Drip. Another bead of sweat fell from the bridge of his chin. Drip. As a second one fell he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry at first, but it cleared into a visage of the ground and his feet. He took a deep, labored, and painful breath before he fell back onto the ground. His lungs desperately grasped at oxygen, attempting to replenish what had been robbed from its muscles. He let himself fall back onto the dirt and stared up at the sky as he spoke, "That's it, I can't keep going." Just then he heard footsteps approaching, followed by a figure blocking his view of the overcast sky, his eyes shifted focus, revealing a man's face, accentuated by blonde hair and a smirk, "Come on Fayt, you can't be out of gas already!"

Fayt let out an annoyed groan before he gave his retort, "Don't give me that look Cliff, we've been training for two hours straight, I'm exhausted."

"Baby, ha," the large blonde man taunted.

"I'm not a baby, I would be just fine if you would just let me use a sword…," the younger man pouted.

The massive Klausian let out a laugh, "You're gonna learn how to fight bare handed if you're training with me! Ha, it seems two years of school have made you soft, I remember when we would spend an entire day fighting and you wouldn't complain one bit!"

Fayt brushed a blue lock of hair of his forehead as he rest his hand upon it, "Well what do you expect, college here on Klaus is a lot different from the one I went to on Earth, I don't get any time to do anything outside of school."

Cliff replied with a jovial tone, "We Klausians don't really take it easy, gonna have to get used to it if you plan to keep living here on Klaus. Hell, at least you got these two weeks off, we can train like crazy, but for now, lets go get some lunch, there's a little shop I've been wanting to take you to."

The prospect of food gave Fayt Motivation to stand up, but when he attempted, nearly half his body cramped up, "Ouch, Cliff, give me a hand here?"

Cliff laughed again, "What a baby!" The muscled man lifted Fayt to his feet, "Don't worry kid, the food there will perk you right up!"

After the battle with Luther ended, Fayt had gone home back to Earth, after two weeks there, he shocked both Sophia and his mother when he informed them that he had decided to move to the planet Klaus and attend college there. Despite protests from the two of them, he went through with it. After adjusting to the increased gravity on Klaus and getting settled into his new home with Cliff as a roommate, he began to enjoy himself. Though school left him no time for anything else, he'd been happy, his close relationship with Cliff played a major role in his happiness, the two had become like family. Cliff had been sad that Fayt couldn't join him at the dojo more often, but he got over it once Fayt turned 21, taking full advantage of it by having dinner in a bar nearly every night and making Fayt drink with him every time the Earthlings schedule allowed it. The two had just settled into their seats at one such bar when Cliff posed a question, "You feeling alright?"

Fayt had been used to yelling over a huge crowd of people when Cliff brought him to a bar, but now at lunch time the place was dead, so he spoke calmly, "Ya, but it's insane how much a body can slip without training. I don't know if I can train anymore today, I really would like a nap, I'm tired as hell."

"Nightmares again?" Cliff inquired with a direct tone.

Fayt sighed, "Yeah."

"What were they about this time?"

Fayt shifted his elbows onto the table and placed his head into his palms, "Niklas and Meena again, third time this week."

"Sounds rough, still can't catch any sleep then?" Cliff popped a few of his fingers as he asked.

Fayt sighed again, "Nope, not a wink, it's terrible. If I'm not dreaming about Niklas and Meena, its some of our other friends, they get killed and I can't stop it."

Cliff stood up from the table they sat at, "That's terrible, I'm sure they're fine, I mean, Nel is probably off on her Missions, Albel is probably doing the same, Roger is probably goofing off, Adray is probably with Roger, Maria stayed on as the captain of Quark after I quit for good, Mirage is floating around Klaus somewhere, your mom and Sophia are fine, I'm right here, and you're next to me right now, so everyone is safe man. We kicked ass last time, so we'll do the same if something happens again."

"Tell that to my brain," Fayt let it out sarcastically.

Cliff threw his arms up then let them fall, he told Fayt he'd order some food, then he headed over to the bartender and spoke for a minute or two before returning to the table. Once he returned to the table, he delivered a single line to the blue haired earthling, "Hey Fayt, I've got an Idea."

Fayt looked up at him groggily and asked, "Hrmm, what is it?"

Cliff leaned back in his bench chair, "How bout instead of training here for the next two weeks, we go visit everyone you're worried about? Regardless of the planet they're on, and train along the way."

Fayt perked up at the idea, "I'd love to, but where are we going to get a ship, Maria kind of left with the Diplo?"

Cliff smirked, "My old man gave me a ship a long time ago, it ain't big, max capacity of about twenty people, but it's packing a gravitic warp engine."

Fayt was puzzled, he'd been on the planet with Cliff for a whole two years but had never seen or heard of this ship before, "Where have you been hiding it all this time?"

Cliff laughed, "At my old mans place, you had to have walked past it twenty times."

A lightbulb went off in Fayt's head, he'd seen the ship at Cliff's dad's dojo quite a few times but always assumed it belonged his father, "Can we really take it? We don't have money for supplies you know."

"Not a problem," Cliff said with a smile, "I've had it fully stocked since my Old Quark days."

"Let's leave now then!"

Cliff was pleased to see the shift in the kid's mood, "Hold your horses, lets eat first, that way we can train on the ship on the way there."

Fayt just grinned and said ok.

Two hours later they had just taken seats in the cockpit of Cliff's ship, Cliff turned to Fayt and asked, "Where to first?"

Fayt didn't hesitate giving his answer, "Elicoor!"

"Elicoor it is," Cliff set the parameters for the ride, and just before he activated the ship, he turned to Fayt, "By the way, my ship's name is The Romeria."

Fayt gave him a funny look, "Isn't that the name of…"

Cliff finished his sentence, "The queen of Aquaria, yup, I named it after her, what can I say, she's a total babe."

Fayt let out a laugh as Cliff slammed a button, triggering the launch sequence. They were but a flash in the Star Ocean within seconds.

Roughly twelve hours had passed since the departure from Klaus, and now Fayt and Cliff were discussing where to land on Elicoor. Fayt was unsure about landing in a crowded area, the planet was still considered underdeveloped, so the two had decided to land in a desolate area, choosing the Mosel Sand Dunes as an appropriate place. So after about a thirteen hours, they had landed back on Elicoor, the place where so much had happened that the planet seemed like it was happy to have them home. Fayt suited up in an outfit similar to the one he'd worn the first time he was on the planet, except it had more black trim than blue, and cliff wore the same black outfit he always wore…Fayt was convinced it was just so he could look brawny. They stepped out into the hot sun when Cliff noticed that Fayt was missing a crucial item for the Journey, "Hey Fayt, Where's your sword?"

Fayt smacked himself in the head, "I left it at the House on Klaus, damn it."

"Guess we'll have to find you one while we're here, and you didn't sleep again, did you?"

Fayt raised his hand to block his eyes from the sun as he gazed out over the desert, "Nope, dreamt about Niklas and Meena again, I'd like to head over to Vanguard next if you don't mind."

Cliff shook his head, "I don't mind, especially if it will bring you some peace of mind, but let's not worry about that now, let's head to Surferio."

Fayt Nodded and they began the trek across the desert.

Luckily for the two of them, they had only landed about an hour away from Surferio, they passed through the caves that opened into the humanoid town and emerged happy as can be. Fayt remarked with a smile, "Hasn't changed a bit…" Before he could finish the sentence, he was proven wrong, the once sleepy town was bustling with humanoids.

Cliff made a comment, "Guess the town tripled in population while we were gone."

Though the town was full of people, it was obvious by the fanfare surrounding them that some sort of event had to be taking placed, there was tons of commotion coming from the center of town. So Fayt and Cliff started shuffling their way through the crowd until the came up to a massive group of people in a circle, they were all shouting and placing bets. It didn't take long for the two to realize that the betting was for a fight, and fortunately for Fayt and Cliff, all the humanoids were shorter than the two of them and they could see the fight. On a bridge crossing a stream stood two young Menodix men, one set on the far side, neither of the two human's recognized him, but on the side closest to them stood another Menodix, his back facing Fayt and Cliff, but they recognized his familiar tannish brown overalls and floppy hat. Cliff was the first to say it, "That's Roger isn't it?"

Fayt nodded his head, "I think so."

The two boys on the bridge started to shout, the one they believed to be Roger started, "Its time I show you who the bigger man is once and for all Lucien!"

The other Menodix boy screamed back in and annoyingly whiny voice, "You really think you can beat me Roger!? With that last comment they sprang out at each other, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks at one another, though from a spectators point of few, it seemed more like a cat fight, Cliff had to comment, "Nothing manly about this fight."

Somehow Roger managed to get behind Lucien's back and put him in a choke hold, but when he glanced up, he saw two faces he thought he'd never seen again. He immediately let go of Lucian and ran towards the end of the bridge yelling, "CLIFF, FAYT, IS THAT YOU TWO?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Before they could answer, Lucien took a cheap shot and sent Roger flying off the bridge and into the Stream. The boy resurfaced just seconds after the fall and started screaming, "THAT WASN'T FAIR LUCIEN, HITTING ME WITH MY GUARD DOWN IS NOT HOW A MAN OPERATES!"

Lucien didn't care as he walked off with a group of young Menodix girls surrounding him, then the crowd dispersed, Roger sat in the water pissed off until he noticed a hand reaching out to grab him, he realized it was Cliff and grabbed ahold of it, allowing the big man to pull him ashore. He ushered a thanks as he shook his whole body the way a dog would to dry off, spraying everything in a five meter radius with water, including Fayt and Cliff. Both men covered their eyes and yelled in unison, "Watch it Roger!"

The young Menodix stopped and giggled, "Sorry guys! So where have you two been, it's been two years and not even a hello!?"

Fayt wiped some water from his brow, "Sorry Roger, I've been in school on the planet that Cliff is from and we haven't had a chance to travel…"

"As if!" Roger bumped Fayt's with his fist, "I hadn't seen you two since you left the planet the first time, then I find out you came back and took that ass Albel with you and left me here!"

Cliff laughed, "We took him because he wasn't this annoying."

Roger glared at him, "Oh yeah, shut up Cliff! I was by myself when those angel monsters showed up and attacked!"

Fayt looked at Roger and spoke with a more serious tone, "They attacked Surferio, how did the town survive?"

Roger got even more heated, "I had to fight them all by myself! Two of them showed up and I took them down, it took me like two hours and I barely survived! Then another one showed up and we evacuated the town to an underground hiding spot!"

Cliff looked at Roger shocked, "Wait, Roger, did you seriously kill two of them by yourself?"

Roger stepped back a step and pulled out his axe from its hanging spot on his back, "Sure did, me and my axe…I did almost die though, it was scary, but I couldn't let my friends get killed."

Fayt and Cliff gave each other the same baffled look, then they both looked at the boy confused and had the same thought, "How the heck did he…?"

Roger noticed the confusion and inquired, "What is it guys?"

Fayt knelt down to the boys eye level, "Roger, it took six of us to kill the first one we came across…how did you beat it?"

Roger got a smirk on his face, "I just fought with all my heart like a man should, guess I'm just not a sissy…should've come and got me instead of Albel."

Cliff remarked as Fayt stood back up, "Maybe we should have," Cliff glanced down at Roger and noticed something, "Hey Roger, if I'm not mistaken, you grew about a foot didn't you?"

"Did I?" Roger ran up and stood next to Cliff, "Guess I did! Never noticed till now, cool! Explains why my outfit is too small now!"

Cliff laughed at him, "So you can take down an angel but you can't figure out when to buy new clothes…"

Fayt laughed with him and Roger blushed before he yelled at them to shut up.

After the laughter calmed, Roger led the Three of them to a little restaurant near the east side of Surferio, they all entered the rustic building and had a seat, Roger was getting ready to order when a Fairy floated up, "No need to place an order you three, the chef says he's making you something on the house. Roger yelled, elated, "Cool."

Roger sat across from Fayt and Cliff, the Menodix sat on his knees and leaned across the table, "So why are you two here?"

"We came to visit, I was wanting to see everyone now that I have a break for a couple weeks," as Fayt finished he leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. Cliff butted in before Roger had a chance to talk again, "Fayt and I are also going to train like crazy."

Roger got really eager, "Can I come!? I want to train! I've had to train alone for two years!"

Fayt grinned, "Of Course you can."

Roger hopped up and bounced up and down next to the table, he continued while Cliff spoke, "I'm gonna work you to the bone then."

Roger got even more excited, "Sounds fun! Wait, here comes our food!" Roger returned to his seat as the Fairy waitress floated up with an enormous tray held above her head, she placed it on the table and began to divvy out the food. She placed a large drink in front of each of them, then followed by giving each of them a plate of food. Cliff had a massive steak with mashed potatoes, Fayt was given a large stew full of meat and vegetables, and Roger received a massive grilled Cheese Sandwich with French fries. "My Favorite!" they all exclaimed in unison. The waitress said enjoy as she left the table. Roughly ten minutes had passed when a man approached their table, he was about four feet tall, wore a white apron and chef's hat, had shiny green skin, and a huge bubbly nose. He held a large kitchen knife in his hands as he spoke, "Pleasure to see you two again." His voice was creepy, that of a cynical tone. Roger noticed he was talking to his companions, "You guys know him?"

Fayt was the first to speak, "Yup, we met him here two years ago, he did some inventing for us."

Cliff spoke to the chef, "I see you still use that knife we gave you."

The chef lifted the knife to stare at it, "Yeah, I never put it down, I still can't believe it came from another planet, it's truly out of this world."

A light bulb went off in Roger's head, "From another planet, when did you bring that to him?"

Fayt spoke truthfully, "When we came back the second time."

Roger slammed his hands on the table and stood up on his seat, "You mean you came back here and didn't even bother to visit me, then you took Albel instead of me!?"

Cliff laughed, "Uh oh."

Roger sat back down and crossed his arms as he mumbled, "You guys suck."

The chef headed back to his kitchen as Fayt told Roger he'd make it up to him. After he cheered the Menodix back up he asked him a question, "So Roger, do you know where Nel and the others are?"

Roger shook his head side to side, "No idea, you're the first two I've even heard from in the last two years."

"That bites," Cliff glanced at Roger, "So are you sure you want to come with us, aren't your two friends living here still?"

"Nope, they moved to Aquios over a year ago."

The blonde man inhaled the last piece of food on his plate, "Why didn't you go with them?"

Roger got a dreamy look on his face as he spoke sort of towards the ceiling, "This is where I lived with my dad…I thought I should stay here, but I've been thinking about leaving for a while now, there's nothing left for me here except for memories of him….but I can take those with me anywhere I go."

Cliff smiled and rustled Roger's hair, "Seems you've matured a little bit."

Roger's face blushed a bit at the compliment as he spoke a thanks.

The three of them finished eating and headed outside only to find that the sun had gone down, the three of them made a mutual decision to sleep in Surferio and head out in the morning. Roger had started out towards his house when cliff stopped them.

The Klausian spoke loudly, "Where do you think you two are going, before we sleep, we train!"

Night had fallen faster than initially expected, training wore everyone out, but Fayt was still running, even after he'd fallen asleep. He could smell the smoke from a mile away, he could see the unnatural glow emanating from the direction in which he was running. He flew into the small town to find nearly every building had been alit with flames. As people screamed and abandoned the town, Fayt ran quickly into it, his breath choked with smoke as he kicked the door down to a small wooden house. He ran inside and screamed when he saw the two children he worried about lying on the floor surrounded by flames and out of his reach. The floor crashed under the children and they fell out of sight. Fayt screamed, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

The scream transferred over to reality as he awoke, breathing heavy and glancing around, he saw Roger asleep on a bed next to him and Cliff lying next to the boy. Through a labored breath, Fayt uttered a simple sentence, "Another dream."

Fayt heard a voice carry across the room, he recognized it as Cliffs, the Klausian hadn't sat up in bed but spoke, "You okay?"

Fayt stared up at the roof, "Yeah, it was just a vivid one, these night terror's suck."

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Hope you enjoyed the first chapter.


	2. Good Morning, Magpie

For the few people who've seen this, I hope you enjoyed it thus far, it's just one chapter after all. Writing this is something I've wanted to do for a while now, so it doesn't matter if I get a lot of recognition. I love Star Ocean, its such a wonderful dream for the future.

This Chapter is named after a beautiful song by my Favorite band, Murder by Death. It's the title track to the Album Good Morning, Magpie. I listened to the album for the first time while I played Star Ocean Till the End of Time for the first time. I suggest listening to the song while you read.

I don't own Star Ocean though. (Disclaimer)

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Chapter 2

Good Morning Magpie

When Fayt rose from his unfulfilling sleep the following morning the first thing he registered was a cramp, it seemed to be his entire body, not just a calf or his arms, but his entire body, it annoyed the earthling when he couldn't get out of bed. He had decided to just lye there and ignore moving, but for some reason unbeknownst to Fayt, the only beam of light cast into the small house was shining right into his eyes. He covered his eyes and glanced at the window that the light shone through, a magpie sat outside the window sill and gave a caw before it flew away. After the bird left he wriggled his body through the shooting pains just enough to get the sun off his brow. He breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could exhale completely a ball of energy jumped on his chest, it yelled in his face with the elation of a gluttonous kid who had just awoken on his birthday, "Morning Fayt, time to get going!"

The blue haired earthling winced at the pain on his sore abs, then slowly drew open his eyes to see Roger in his pajamas with a giant grin on his face, "Roger, can you get off me, I'm crazy sore."

The Menodix jumped off of him, "Sorry, why are you so sore?"

Before Fayt could offer a reply, Cliff approached and answered for him, "Because he let his body get lanky and the training yesterday killed him."

"Well what do you expect? All we did was three straight hours of exercise, I don't get why we can't just fight, too many sit ups and pushups if you ask me!" Fayt spoke with an annoyed tone.

Cliff replied, "Physical training is like the foundation of a house, you need it to build a strong building, the same thing applies here, physical training is for life kid."

Roger chimed in, "I always do an hour of exercise every morning."

Fayt forced his body to allow him to sit up, "I need to do that too Roger, I haven't felt like this since that first night we spent in Kirlsa after the hike over the mountain from Airyglyph."

Cliff laughed, "Ha, well don't worry, we're going to work on techniques today!'

Fayt replied, "I want to track down a sword."

Cliff cocked his head sideways, "That's all well and good, but we're doing barehanded fighting, both of you are newbies at it, so it should be fun!"

After that, Cliff made his way outside. Fayt glanced around the little house, it was quaint. It bore a small fireplace, two beds, a tiny kitchen, and a table all in one room. From what Fayt had learned from Roger the night before, this was the house that Roger had lived In with his dad, and now it was Roger's. "I like your house Roger."

Roger had started to change into his usual outfit, "Thanks, sucks I'm not going to see it for a long time, but that's okay….Well, I'll see you outside Fayt." The boy headed out, closing the door behind him.

Roughly thirty minutes had passed since the three left Surferio, they were now crossing the plains that led to Peterny. Fayt dragged along slowly in the back while Cliff and Roger walked side by side in front of him. Roger was stuffing his face with an apple while Cliff explained some concepts of hand to hand combat to him. "So you're reaction time has to be a lot faster, if you are close enough to hit, then that means you're close enough to get hit, when we get to Peterny we can eat breakfast, then I can show you some basic stuff to get you both started."

Fayt was glancing up at the blue painted sky while he listened, suddenly he heard a loud screech. He looked down to find Roger and Cliff looking for the source. At the same time they all spotted a large red bird swooping down at Fayt. Cliff yelled a warning to Fayt just as the Bird was about five feet away from the Earthling. Fayt was shocked at how fast the bird closed the distance, on instinct he threw up his right hand and a white glow surrounded it, "Fire Bolt!" He blasted the bird point blank in the head, sending both him and the bird reeling onto the ground, but Fayt stood back up as soon as he hit the ground. Cliff and Roger both appeared in front of him, Roger asked if he was ok, Fayt took a deep breath as he answered, "Yeah, I'm alright."

Cliff noticed the bird was still alive as he spoke to Fayt, "I'm glad to see your Symbology didn't get rusty!"

Fayt brushed his shirt off, "I'm glad I forced myself to learn that spell, first time I've casted in a LONG time."

Cliff shifted his focus back to the bird, "I forgot how tough these ugly birds are, now pay attention to this Roger, this technique is called Fiery Tackle."

Cliff shot forward, a fire enveloped him as he body slammed the bird, sending it crashing into some large boulders, "That ends that, well….let's get going!"

Another hour passed by with no more interference from monsters, so the trio made it to Peterny much faster than they initially expected. Fayt and Cliff were particularly happy when they entered the city gate, they had a lot of memories centralized here, but before they could daydream, Roger started complaining about being hungry, so they headed towards the town square. On the way there, they encountered few people, it was fall on this section of Elicoor, so most people were dressed with light coats to fight the slight chill. They were keeping a steady gait when they passed a weapon shop, so Fayt stopped, "Hey, let's go look at swords!"

Upon entering, both Roger and Fayt got lost in weapons, the walls were lined with them. Fayt spotted a Broadsword, he went to grab it till he saw the price tag, then he had a realization, "Anyone have 150 fol?"

Roger replied, "I have enough to eat, but not enough for a sword"

Fayt looked to Cliff, the Klausian shook his head, "I spent all mine drinking after you guys fell asleep last night."

Fayt dropped his head, "Dang it."

A merchant started to approach them, Fayt saw him coming, so he hustled out the door, he didn't want to be haggled if he didn't have any cash to negotiate with. Roger followed him out, but when they stepped outside, they noticed Cliff had stayed inside. Fayt walked back in to find Cliff staring at a wall with a hand on his chin. The Earthling looked at what the Klausian was eyeballing, and he found a pair of gauntlets on the wall. He asked Cliff about the quality, "Is that a good pair."

Cliff gave a blunt answer, "This may be the best set of gauntlets I've ever seen."

"Better than the stuff on Klaus?"

"Way better," Cliff stared harder at them after he spoke. The merchant from before noticed his interest and came to spark up a sale. He spoke with a sniveling, sarcastic voice, "These came from the Kingdom of Greeton, and they only cost ten million fol."

Cliff looked the man in the eyes, "I'll be back to buy these."

The merchant gave him an unbelieving look and spoke with sarcasm, "See you then."

They left the shop and rejoined Roger, five minutes later they were seated at a picnic style table in the town square. Surrounding them were a myriad of street vendors, some peddled groceries, some clothes, and a few had oddball items. "Looks like one of the flea markets back on earth," Fayt remarked nonchalantly, "Seems the town got busier since the last time we were here."

Roger complained, "Who cares about that, I want to find a pretty girl to make us some food."

The boy stood up and Fayt called to him as he walked away, "Don't get lost."

"As If!" The menodix spoke cockily as he disappeared into the crowd.

Cliff had seemed distracted by his brain for a while. Whatever thought he was pondering must have settled, he returned to reality, "So Fayt, where are we going now?"

"Maybe we should head to Aquious, if Roger doesn't know where anyone is then I bet that guy Lasselle will."

Cliff got a sour look on his face, his lips pursed as he spoke, "That sniveling guy? I don't like him."

"I don't either Cliff, but he is the information nerd of this planet…so he's probably our best bet."

Cliff let out a deep sigh," I guess you're right, still, I'd rather avoid him, and you talk to him. I may just punch him in the teeth."

Fayt laughed pretty hard at the comment, "Ha, now now Cliff, don't go causing a war."

"Well it's like I always say, I'll give as good as I get."

Fayt raised an eyebrow, "But Cliff, if all he gives you is sour attitude, then wouldn't giving what you get mean talking smack back?"

The Klausian leaned in close to Fayt, "Let me give you a serious piece of advice kid, sometimes talking with your fists makes your words hit harder…guys like him need a smack."

"You need to start writing these things down so I can reference them later Cliff…we'll call it Fittir's guide to interpersonal relationships…Chapter 1. If they argue, punch em'."

Cliff gave a bellowing laugh, "Since when did you get so funny Fayt?"

Fayt pretended to be playing it cool, "Just born talented."

They were laughing when Roger returned to the table, he had a wicker basket full of food, "Here you go guys, lunch is on me." The Menodix just flipped the basket upside down and food came pouring out, amongst which was several melons, some apples, and large loafs of bread. Cliff looked over the food before vocalizing his concerns, "Where's the meat!?"

Roger took a seat next to Fayt, "I don't really eat a lot of meat."

Cliff puffed, "Well I do!"

Roger cut a melon in several pieces, he handed a sliver to Fayt, then another towards Cliff, "Quit complaining you big Lummox and eat what's in front of you, you're like a little kid!"

Cliff snapped back at the teen, "You sure got a big mouth for such a little squirt!"

Roger ignored him and kept eating while Fayt laughed at the exchange. Cliff breathed a sigh, "Eh whatever, I'll find some meat later." The big man snagged a piece of the melon and took an enormous bite out of it, his face had a shocked look, "This melon is delicious!"

That single line seemed to be the trigger for a food eating battle between Roger and Cliff, so Fayt pulled his portion aside and watched the two with glee while he ate. Nearly all the food was gone when a voice shouted from across the marketplace, "Fayt, Cliff!"

All three boys looked around but saw no one they recognized amongst the crowd, Fayt inquired, "You guys hear that too?"

Roger and Cliff nodded, just then they heard it again, but it was much closer, "Fayt, Cliff, Hey!"

They were able to distinguish a person in the crowd running at them. At first they couldn't discern any physical features, but as the figure approached they could tell it was a woman. She walked up to the table and Fayt could see her face, she was strikingly beautiful with long silvery brown hair tied into braids, wore the traditional female runologist uniform, and spoke with a soft and sweet voice, "It is you two!"

Cliff was the first to speak, he recognized her as soon as he saw her, and he never could forget a beautiful face, "Well if it isn't Claire Lasbard!"

The beautiful woman had a seriously infectious happy demeanor, "What are you guys doing here in Peterny, when did you get back to this planet?"

Fayt stood to greet her, he felt a tad awkward, he couldn't decide if he should shake her hand or hug her, so he just stood in a soldier like attention, but his vocal tone didn't give away anything, it was smooth, "We just got back here yesterday…why don't you have a seat with us and catch up?

Roger took this as his cue, he stood and pulled a chair out for the beauty, "Have a seat milady!"

She spoke a thanks and sat down, Roger moved across the table and sat staring at her with googly eyes. In his imagination she was wearing a wedding dress next to him and giggling at everything he said. As the boy daydreamed, the others broke into conversing seamlessly. Fayt asked her the first question, "So what's new with you Claire?"

Claire spoke with direct eye contact, a confident trait that belied her soft voice, "Just working, I'm currently stationed here in Peterny, I've been overseeing the rebuilding of Arias, acting as a liaison to Airyglyph, handling all the officers in the area, and just about everything else. I'm the only high ranking officer in the area at the moment. Not that I'm complaining, just a lot of work."

Cliff was quick with deductions as always, "Only high ranking officer? Where is your dad, and Nel?"

Fayt leaned forward slightly for the answer, eager to hear as well. Claire let out a small sigh, "My father built a house in Arias, he is currently retired, he said that traveling is boring if he isn't with you guys and quit…."

Cliff Laughed when Fayt questioned, "Well how bout Nel, where is she?"

"Nel left a month ago on a mission, she headed towards Greeton with Tynave and Farleen, and they aren't due back for three more weeks."

Fayt was saddened, "Oh, that's unfortunate." He leaned back in his chair when Claire asked, "Why so sad Fayt?"

The Earthling didn't answer, a moment passed when Cliff answered, "Lover boy was wanting to see Nel."

Claire's eyes widened a tad as Fayt slammed a hand on the table and snapped towards Cliff with a slight blush on his cheeks, "Shut up Cliff, I came to visit EVERYONE!"

Cliff felt satisfied by getting a rise out of Fayt, so he just laughed as the Earthling crossed his arms and changed the subject by asking Claire a question, "So Claire, do you know a place I can get a good sword for cheap?"

Claire placed her hand on her chin, a motion that Roger found cute enough to feed his daydreams while the woman of said dreams replied to Fayt, "Well…Now that you mention Nel, it reminds me of something…I have a sword at my Father's house in Arias. It just so happens that I'm going there today to oversee some reconstruction, would you guys like to accompany me there, I can give you the sword when we get there?"

Fayt stood up excitedly, "Sounds great, let's get going!"

Claire stood up as well, "Let me go get my carriage ready!" She turned to speak with Cliff, "Cliff, would you mind helping me get it ready?"

Cliff stood and stretched, "No problem, should we all meet at the south gate in fifteen minutes?"

Claire nodded, 'Sounds like plenty of time."

Cliff and Claire walked off out of sight when Fayt noticed Roger still lost in his head. He gave the Menodix a smack to the head, "Wake up."

Roger shook his head back and forth, having forgotten where he was for a spell, "Oh, what's up Fayt?"

Fayt started walking towards the south of Peterny, "We're meeting those two in a bit, let's go wait."

The Menodix glanced around, "Where did that idiot and the princess go?"

"To pick up a carriage, how much did you miss?"

"The last thing I remember is pulling a seat out for that beautiful lady," Roger blushed as he spoke.

Fayt turned and started walking towards the Southside of Peterny, "Sheesh, how can you ever talk to a girl if all you do is daydream about them? Come on, we're all going to Arias."

Fayt had turned to face Roger when he mentioned the trip to Arias, after he spoke he turned around and collided bodies with a girl who'd been running, Fayt didn't budge, but the girl fell hard onto her butt and shouted from the pain, "OUCH, watch where you're going mister!"

Fayt offered a hand to the girl, she took it and stood up, immediately straightening out the long black skin tight sweatshirt she wore. He couldn't help but noticed her attractive frame, who could blame the guy when the shirt was that tight…he put his mind past it, "I'm sorry mam…I didn't See you there."

The girl was worked up, she pointed a finger into Fayt's Face, "You should pay more attention, you don't need to be knocking out pretty girls you pervert, I hate guys like," she didn't finish the sentence, she finally locked eyes with Fayt, then she had a thought, " _I think I've seen this gorgeous face somewhere before…._ "

While the girl had to think to remember him, Fayt realized who she was, he cocked his head to the side and spoke, "Hi Welch."

She had here realization, slammed her right fist into her left palm, "You're Fayt, my you've gotten even cuter than you were before."

Roger watched the exchange as Fayt shrugged off the bold faced pick up line, speaking as calmly as before, "Been a while, how's the inventing business going?"

Welch skipped the usual inquiries about where he'd been and answered his question, "Its dead, I quit, the guild master closed all the shops and took a job in Aquious, and all the shops are just dusty old buildings now…all the inventers we'd hired left when you did."

Fayt shifted his body weight from on hip to the other, "I'm sorry."

Welch ran her fingers through her hair like a comb, "Don't worry about it, I'm glad it happened, I wanted to quit anyways, I was tired of it, no one has the heart to invent anymore anyways."

Roger walked to stand in front of Fayt and stare at yet another beautiful woman, Fayt carried on the conversation without giving the boy much notice, "So what are you doing now Welch?"

She spoke bubbly and proudly, "I design, make, and sell my own clothes!" Welch did a spin to show off the clothes she had on, "This is one of my own outfits."

Fayt was certainly impressed, "Looks great!"

Welch spoke a thank you, "Thanks so much!"

Right then she had a tug on the bottom of her shirt, she glanced down to see Roger attempting to speak to her, but all he could do is mumble. He pointed at her, then grabbed his undersized shirt. He repeated this until Fayt saved him, "I think he's asking if you could make him a new outfit."

Welch had immediately noticed the sorry state of the boys clothes, "When was the last time this kid got a new set of clothes, these are WAY too small."

A moment passed in silence between the three of them, but it was soon broken by Welch, "I can make him something, but it will take a little time, it will have to be a special order considering he's a menodix, I've never made clothes that needed a tail hole before, how exciting!"

Roger was elated, he managed some words, "Thanks so much beautiful Lady! Can you make them super strong, I do a lot of fighting!"

She pinched his cheek, "Sure I can."

A blush took up residence on his cheek. It only grew worse when she pulled a cloth measuring tape and starting taking his measurements. Fayt teased, "If you're cheeks stay so red you'll have to start charging that blush rent money."

Roger barked back, "Hey, shut up Fayt! I don't even understand that joke anyways!"

Welch stood back up, returning the tape to her pocket, "Give me a few hours!"

Fayt shifted his focus to the girl, "We're taking a trip to Arias, can we pick them up tonight?"

She kept her bubbly tone, "Yeah! There's a bar on the East side of Town called The Biting Kid, my shop is right out behind it, be there at 7!"

Welch tuned and ran off as roger yelled thank you, "Thanks miss!"

Fayt realized the encounter took a chunk of time, "I bet we're late now, let's hurry to the gate!"

The pair scurried across the town and reached their destination in a few minutes, as they approached they saw a large horse drawn carriage with two horses mounted to it, a large Klausian sitting on top of it, and a pretty woman holding the reigns, she was the first to speak, "Hurry up you slowpokes!"

Fayt proceeded to hop up next to Cliff, while Roger found himself a seat next to Claire.

Claire shouted, "Let's go!" She cracked the whip in her hands, the horses whinnied and then they headed south out of the city, off to the town of Arias.

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Hope you don't mind the 3000 word Chapters, that's about where my chapters average. More to come soon as long as work stays slim.


	3. Crimson Lust

Here's Chapter 3, I hope you enjoy it!

I didn't name this Chapter after a song, so here's a song suggestion, maybe listen while you read, I listened while I wrote. Perhaps the feeling will come across. It's called "29" by Run River North.

I don't own Star Ocean, just thoroughly love it. (Disclaimer)

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Chapter 3

Crimson Lust

Fayt, Cliff, Roger, and Claire had only traveled a hundred yards south of the gate from Peterny when her horses came to a grinding hault. The entire carriage nearly collapsed from the sudden stop, the inertia carrying it forward as the passengers braced for the wreck that never came. The day was sunny and bright, but the path that lye before them wasn't, standing smack in the middle of the road was a massive tree, it boasted many limbs with human arm capabilities, and a humanesque face that added a sickening feeling to your stomach when you looked at it. Perhaps the most shocking part was that it was three times bigger than the ones they'd encountered in the past. Claire strained to keep the horses calm as she shouted, "What in the world is this doing here, these aren't supposed to ever leave Duggas Forest!?"

Cliff whistled then replied, "Who cares how it got here, I'm wondering how it grew so big!"

Roger hopped out of the carriage, garnishing his axe on his shoulder, "Who cares, lets chop this sucker down, that's what axes are for anyway!"

As Roger rushed in with reckless bravado, Fayt tried to stop him, but before he could usher a warning, Roger was sent skyward by a root coming out of the ground. Fayt yelled, "It's roots are its best weapon, long range attacks are better!"

Roger crashed back down and Cliff swept by the tree, grabbing the young menodix and jumping just out of the way of another root attack."

Cliff laughed, "Now this is exciting, I forgot how fun this planet was! Go ahead and let it have it Fayt."

Fayt nodded his head as he extended his right hand, "Right, what better way to get rid of a giant chunk of wood…than to burn it, FIRE BOLT!"

A small portion of the tree alit with flame when a second fire bolt came whistling past Fayt's head and crashed into the tree. Fayt spun around to see who'd fired the bolt, and to his surprise, it came from Claire. She was standing on top of the driver's seat of the carriage as she shot another bolt, "Fire Bolt!"

Fayt yelled to her, a slight shift in his vocal tone denoted how impressed he was with the girl, "That's Awesome Claire! I didn't know you could use Symbology!"

She retorted, her voice sarcastic, "I am a Runologist."

Fayt laughed, "Well Keep it up!" As Claire prepared another shot, Fayt ran up to stand with Cliff and Roger, the two of them had already discovered the range of the monsters underground root attacks and were standing just outside of its reach. As Fayt approached them, he inquired to Cliff, an overjoyed feeling that can only be spurned by the thrill of battle overtook him, the elation evident in his voice, "So what's the plan of attack?!"

Cliff replied, "Well, I'm not sure, Hold on a sec." The Klausian rushed straight at the monster, using his enhanced agility to dodge several attempted blows, he finished his assault with a massive punch to the monsters body, and it was to no avail. Cliff seemed an acrobat as he weaved his way back to where the others stood, just before he returned he had to duck to avoid a fire bolt shot by Claire. He shouted in protest, "Watch Where you're throwing those things Claire!"

The beauty issued an apology before the three boys consulted again, Cliff began with his analysis, "it's hard as a rock, so we have two options, Strong Symbology…Or we take out its eyesight, limit its attacking capabilities, then chip away at it bit by bit."

The young menodix perked up, "I can take care of his eyes!"

Before Fayt or Cliff could ascertain his intention, Roger hefted his axe behind his head, then suddenly the axe swelled with flames, "Watch this!" He threw the axe with absolute precision, striking the giant monster clean in the face. The axe embedded itself in the creature, and soon the fire spread from the axe and on the creature, successfully eliminating its eyesight. Yet before the trio could initiate another attack, the pain from the fire sent the monster into a frenzy, all of its massive limbs flailed wildly, and it destroyed the earth around itself. The trio had no choice but to retreat. Fayt shouted, "What the hell do we do now?!"

Cliff yelled back, "I don't know! Just stay clear!"

Roger took a turn, "I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to make it go crazy!"

Cliff yelled back, "Don't apologize, it was a hell of a good shot!"

Suddenly, over the crashing and mayhem, they heard a female voice beseech them a warning, "Get back now you three!"

Claire stood behind them, a strong white glow forming around her hand, Fayt knew exactly what it meant, she was channeling a huge spell, so he grabbed his cohorts and started dragging them away, "She's firing something huge!"

When everyone was clear, Claire released the Symbology, she used a powerful shout that didn't seem possible from the quiet woman, "EXPLOSION!"

A large ball that looked like a small fiery planet fell from the sky above the monster, enveloping the creature with an explosion that not only engulfed the tree, but the earth around it as well. It held true to its name, soon all that was visible was piercing light. After roughly a minute the fire started to settle, leaving the three men with quite a sight, in front of them was a pile of wooden embers, glowing a cherry red with smoke slowly rising from the rubble. Behind them Claire stood atop the wagon with the same docile demeanor she usually carried, it sent a frightening jolt up the spine of all three of the men. Cliff was the first to speak, his eyes full of lust, "Beautiful and dangerous, my kind of woman."

Fayt laughed nervously, "Seeing that innocent face on something so powerful is almost creepy."

Cliff nudged his shoulder, "It would only be creepy if she was ugly."

The menodix started screaming, "Who cares about any of that, she just burned up my axe! It was still stuck to that monster's face!" He started tearing up, his world was crashing with a torrent of emotion, "My dad gave me that axe!"

Claire had been walking to join the group with a grin when the boy burst out, suddenly it seemed the gods had dropped a hellfire of sadness upon the woman as she rushed to Roger's side, she knelt and lay her hand upon his shoulder, "I'm sorry."

Roger snapped, "What's that gonna fix you evil lady!?"

Being of an empathetic demeanor, Claire was stung deep by his reaction, not knowing what else to say. Fayt decided to step in, "Roger, we were in the middle of a battle, that sort of thing happens to weapons sometimes, Claire was only trying to protect the group."

The menodix glared at him, not answering, he stood and wiped the tears away from his face, and then he charged forward into the mass of embers, burning his body as he started tossing them aside. Cliff was quick to grab the youngster, "Idiot, it ain't worth burning to death." The Klausian threw the boy out towards Fayt, "Don't let him go Fayt!"

Roger struggled as Fayt held the boy motionless and unable to move, he spit fire at Fayt, "Let me go Fayt, I have to find my axe!"

Fayt laughed, "Sorry, can't do that."

Roger was ready to retort but was interrupted by Cliff yelling, it catching everyone's attention, "Son of a bitch that's hot!"

Cliff had dug through the embers and retrieved a hunk of metal, he was currently playing hot potato with it as he came running out of the embers, once clear he dropped the object to the ground. Both his hands and the metal simmered for a few minutes, once they stopped, burns were revealed on Cliff's hands, and the metal was shown to be the aforementioned axe head. Fayt released Roger, the boy bolting over to Cliff, first thanking the Klausian, then lifting his axe head, "The Handle is gone!"

Cliff was blowing on his hands in a pathetic attempt to cool them, "But we can just get another handle installed."

Claire joined in, "In know a blacksmith in Arias, I'll get it fixed as soon as we get there!"

Roger glared her, "Buy me food too and we'll call it even."

Claire smiled, "Of Course, I know the best cook in town!"

Roger smiled brightly, "Alright then gorgeous, let's go!"

Fayt nudged Cliff, "You don't think all that was just him acting do you, he is a prankster."

Cliff returned his hands to his sides, "Nope, I think he's acting like it was an act so that we don't think he's a sissy."

Fayt chuckled at the remark, then was the first to motion his way back to the wagon, quickly at his feet were the other three. All four passengers being returned to the wagon, Claire snapped the reigns and started the horses off towards Arias once again. Claire asked Cliff, who'd motioned to sit next to her, "Are your hands ok?"

He smiled, "Ain't nothing, just need to bandage em' and they'll heal just fine."

…

Delicious, simply delicious. The naturally grown herbs blended perfectly with the sautéed mushrooms and steak. The Steamed potatoes topped with some sauce only known to the chef were remarkably delicious. The home brewed tea accentuated the meal perfectly. Delicious, Simply Delicious. "You're an excellent Chef Claire!" Cliff declared it proudly, only to be followed by Fayt, "No Kidding, this food is amazing."

Roger sat content with life, a beautiful woman made him a delicious meal, the young menodix inquisitioned, "Ms. Claire, how did you get to be such a good chef?"

After they arrived in Arias, Claire left the three men in a house she explained to be the one her father had built. They were shocked at the mere size of the place, it was by far the largest house they'd seen on Elicoor. It was twice as big as Woltar's mansion and full of high class decorations and adornments. They all awaited her anxiously until after thirty minutes she'd returned and began to cook, within moments the three men had sat at a large table fervently awaiting the food, lust for it being fueled by the scent that had embedded itself into the house. Claire laid down four plates full of food and four small cups with gold flake stencil along the outsides and cold tea inside. Here the four of them sat as Claire answered Roger's current question, "Well, Nel actually taught me, she's always been good at cooking, even as a child."

Roger spoke through a mouth full of food, "I don't like meat much, but this is so good.

Cliff took a large swallow of steak, "You're gonna make someone a hell of a wife Claire."

She grinned broadly, "Thank you very much, but work doesn't accord much time for anything like that."

Fayt noticed a slight spark as they spoke, especially when Cliff returned, "Well, a true man should be impressed by hard working women, at least that's how I feel."

A boisterous laugh echoed throughout the room, followed by an unknown voice. A voice that seemed to seethe with pride, "I couldn't have said it better myself Cliff!" The man entered the room, he was shirtless and tan, and he looked far more youthful than he should for a man his age, no doubt thanks to his constant training and steady diet keeping. Upon his entry, Fayt, Cliff, and Roger all shouted in unison, "ADRAY!"

They all stood to greet him when he entered, the elder man first gave Roger a smack on the shoulder, "Ha Ha, you've grown kid!" He immediately followed by wrapping Fayt up in a massive bear hug, lifting him from the ground then quickly letting him go, Fayt was disheveled when Adray spoke, "Master Fayt! It's been a while!"

Fayt replied, "And you don't look a day older than the last time I saw you."

"I'm still as youthful as you could ever wish to be!" Then the old man turned and grasped Cliff's hand in a firm handshake, "So Master Cliff, you fancy my daughter a good wife, why not marry her then!? With Lasbard blood in her veins she'll bear strong children and keep you in line as if it were as simple as breathing!"

Claire's face lit a shade of cherry red, whether spurned by anger of embarrassment was not quite clear, but an estout man would have come to the conclusion it was berthed by both, she lit into her father, "FATHER! I'm not some doll to be pawned off to the highest bidder!"

Adray didn't seem to mind the angry outburst, evidence that this was a common occurrence, "Come now Claire, with that attitude you'll never land a husband!"

She snapped back, "I will marry someone of my choosing when I see fit!"

Fayt and Roger had already taken a step back, laughing at the situation when Cliff chimed in, "Well now Adray, I feel the same way as Claire, I have to be sure about a person if I ever marry someone, that said, Claire could be a prime candidate," she blushed harder as Cliff laughed, the Klausian obviously found the entire situation hilarious, "Also Claire, you should take it easy on your father, he obviously knows what he's doing asking me, I AM fantastic."

Claire got quiet and left the room dropping both men a glare as Adray spoke to Cliff, "Indeed you are Master Cliff! Come have a seat, let us eat and talk!"

Adray sat and snatched Claire's plate from the table, having no problem seizing her food for himself, he swallowed a large bite of food then chased it with some tea, "So, What brings you three here?"

Fayt spoke politely, "I had some time off from my schooling and decided to come pay everyone a visit, we ran into Claire in Peterny, then she invited us here, I need a sword and she said there was one here I could have."

A lightbulb seemed to go off in Adray's head, "Indeed there is, it's in my workshop out back."

A loud thunk struck the table as little Roger dropped his axe head upon it, "Claire said she'd have a blacksmith fix this, my axe handle was burned up in a fight."

Claire reentered the room at that time, the previous annoyances didn't show on her face when she came back, she brushed it off as easily as 1, 2, 3. She spoke to Adray, "Can you fix it for him father?"

Adray came around the table and lifted the axe head, "Shouldn't be a problem!"

Roger leapt, "You're the blacksmith?"

"Yes sir, I make weapons in my spare time, come on Roger, We'll go fix it right now! You come as well Master Fayt, that sword is in the back as well!"

"Cool!" Fayt stood and followed the other two out of the room, leaving Claire alone with Cliff. She sat down and noticed her plate was devoid of food. Cliff chuckled, "You're dad ate it."

She sighed and chuckled at the same time, "Well I suppose I'll have to make more."

The Klausian posed a question, "I have to pick up some supplies, why don't you skip cooking and show me all the work that's going on around town, I'll get you something to eat in the process?"

Claire smiled, "All right, let's go then."

…

Adray's workshop smelt of oil, fire, and smoke. It was obvious to Fayt that the elder man did indeed spend a lot of time in this room. In the center of the room sat a fire pit with a chimney that protruded through the roof, it was currently unlit and had several long tools lying next to it, Fayt recognized these from his short time in Smithery work the last time he was on the planet. On the walls many random weapons hung and clanged slightly as a breeze rolled in the window, to Fayt they seemed a dungeon masters wind chimes. He laughed at the thought when Adray threw some coals into the fire pit, then lit them with some Symbology. Roger know little about Smithery, but understood enough to pose a question, "Hey Adray, if you're just adding a wood handle, then why are you starting a fire, that's for shaping the metal isn't it?"

Adray spoke directly as he lifted the axe head with a long metal tool, "The axe head was slightly misshapen, we need to fix it."

Roger was quick to answer, "Makes sense, I really appreciate this, this was my Dad's axe, I need to take good care of it!"

Adray smiled, he placed the axe head in the fire pit as he spoke, "A good man always pays respect to his father!"

During their exchange Fayt had walked up to the wall of weapons, he saw three swords hanging, "Say Adray, is one of these swords for me?"

"No those," the elder man walked to the corner of the room, he pulled a blanket off of a large chest, then walked back to the center of the room and set the chest on a table, "It's in here!"

Both Fayt and Roger met him at the table and watched as Adray unclasped a lock and opened the chest. Inside sat several weapons, each unseen and wrapped in a cloth. Adray moved several out of the way and grabbed one such weapon that sat closer to the bottom and pulled it out. He handed it to Fayt. The Earthling eagerly unwrapped the cloth and revealed the weapon within. "It's double bladed longsword! Just my style," Fayt was elated, the sword was sheathed in the same fashion as he was used to, being worn around the waist and hanging on his backside. Though this sheath was not his usual blue color, but black with red stitching. He drew the sword from the sheath with his right hand, then lifted it before his face so he could admire its features. The entirety of the blade was black with the exception of the tang, both being silver, and sharp beyond belief. The handle was lined with a red colored grip, and the guard was broad and black. Though the uniqueness of the sword came from something else entirely, along the length of the blade runes were embedded, each being written in a silver engraving. To Fayt they looked just like the runes that the runoligist's of this planet tattooed on themselves. Fayt asked Adray, "Aren't these runes used for channeling Symbology?"

Adray nodded, "Indeed they are, so…do you like the sword?"

Fayt swung the sword in a downward slash, "It's Fantastic! The weight balance is just how I like it, heavier on the blade than the handle, the length is perfect! It's like it was made for me, where did it come from?"

Adray smiled, "that's because it was made for you, Nel made it."

Roger and Fayt spoke in unison, with slight surprise, "Nel made it?"

"That's right," Adray shifted and stoked his fire before he finished, "About a year ago she was in town, she forged a few weapons, and this was by far her best work, she used a special metal too…it's great for channeling spells, since you are already skilled at embedding your blades with the elements, she used that metal and added the runes, all to make this a custom sword for you! I guess she was hoping you'd come around again so she could give it to ya…make sure you thank her when you see her, she put a lot of work into it."

Fayt took a final awe inspired look at the blade before sheathing it and tying it to his waist, "This is ridiculously awesome, I will thank her! I can't believe she made this for me!"

Just then a thought occurred to the earthling, "Did she name it?"

"Nope," Adray's answer was simple, "But I liked the name Crimson Lust for it."

Fayt pointed at the man, "That's cool, Crimson Lust! That's what we'll call it!"

Adray was cheesed, he loved naming weapons, "AH HA, it lust's after the crimson blood of its enemies! Now, let's go finish this axe, eh Roger?"

The menodix rushed to the fire, "let's do it!"

…

After a tour around the town the sun had fallen close to setting, the temperature had dropped to add a little chill to the air while Claire and Cliff sat outside of a little bakery. They stopped when Cliff saw a sign that read, "Now serving sandwiches." The impressive new headquarters in town was nothing compared to a sandwich, or so said Cliff when the waitress sat food down at their little two person table. The woman left, leaving Cliff and Claire alone, the former drooling as he picked up his sandwich, the ladder smiling and watching him, "You sure do love to eat, don't you Cliff?"

Cliff took a massive bite and swallowed it down, "Sorry, don't mean to be rude stuffing my face, but yeah, I love food."

"You already ate at my house," she chuckled, and it was a cute chuckle in Cliff's eyes.

Cliff remarked, "Everyone has called me a tank or a bottomless pit since I was a kid."

The beauty took a bite of her sandwich, swallowed it, and spoke clearly, "Hard to imagine you as a kid, what were you like?"

"Like Roger, just taller, and about as loud. Just ask my dad, haha!"

"Now that I think about it, that makes sense," she followed with a smile.

The Klausian raised one eyebrow, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're making fun of me Claire."

She held the smile and spoke as softly as she always did, "Maybe I am."

They were both quiet a moment when someone shouted, "You gonna kiss her or not Cliff!?"

They both jumped slightly, caught off guard amidst their flirtatious exchange. They both looked to the source to find Roger looking on eagerly, Fayt about twenty five feet behind the brat walking towards them. The menodix continued, "Come on then Cliff, I'm sick of waiting!"

The Klausian got out of his chair, walked to Roger, then punched him square in the face, "Shut up ya brat!"

Roger didn't seem to mind, he was fast back to his footing, "HA! Didn't hurt!"

Fayt walked up to join them, "What are you two fighting about this time?"

Roger spoke first but was muffled by Cliff's hand, "They were gonna Ki-"

Cliff interrupted, "It was nothing."

Roger bit Cliff's hand until the man let go, "Hey, watch it kid, my hands are still healing from this morning!"

Roger just stuck his tongue out at him, Cliff ignored it, "So you get that axe fixed kid?"

Roger's face showed pure happiness, "I DID! CHECK IT OUT!"

Claire approached as the boy unsheathed it, watching as Roger handed it to Cliff, "He added a new handle, reshaped it, and sharpened it! Oh and look on the bottom side of the axe head, he put my dad's name on it."

Cliff turned it to reveal the small engraving, it read Albert S. Huxley, Cliff smiled, "That's cool."

Roger retrieved the axe and handed it to Claire, "What do you think?"

She smiled warmly as she took it, but she struggled to support its weight, "It's quite nice, but how do you hold this thing up!?"

"It's not that heavy," the menodix took it back, then Roger continued, "Hey Cliff, check out the sword that Fayt got!"

Fayt then drew the blade and passed it to Cliff. The Klausian examined it, "It's wicked, I'm guessing the runes are for channeling spells, Adray made this too?"

Claire chimed in, "Nope, Nel made it for Fayt."

Cliff dawned a curiously mischievous grin, "Is that right? What's its name?"

Fayt answered with excitement, "Crimson Lust! It lusts for the crimson blood of its enemies, awesome name right?"

Cliff laughed internally as a joke popped in his head while he passed the sword back to Fayt, "Are you sure you didn't name it….Lust for the Crimson haired girl who made it?"

Claire and Roger both giggled as Fayt's face turned Red, "ADRAY NAMED IT, WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT!?"

Roger chimed in with a sarcastic tone, "Then why's your face so red Fayt?"

The Earthling shouted, "Can it! I'm going back to Adray's!"

Fayt turned on his heels and walked off with Roger on his heels poking continuous fun at him. As Claire watched them leave, she questioned Cliff, "Does Fayt have romantic feelings for Nel?"

Cliff laughed and returned to the table that held their food as he answered, "Maybe, I've had a hunch he did since we first came here."

Claire took a seat across from him, the prospect of Fayt liking Nel gave her cause for excitement, "Is that true?!"

"I don't think he'd get so worked up if he didn't, either way its fun as hell poking at him." The Klausian Laughed.

Claire placed a hand on her Chin, "If that's so, then there's something I must tell you."

Cliff raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah, what is it?"

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How do you like it?


	4. Foxglove

This chapter was named after a beautiful song called Foxglove by Murder by Death, the chapter was literally inspired by it, Certainly play it during the last third of this chapter...or the whole thing.

I don't own Star Ocean. (Disclaimer)

* * *

Chapter 4 Foxglove

The Grandfather Clock that sat snug in the Livingroom of Adray's home read 5:27p.m. When Fayt and Roger had returned from their meeting with Claire and Cliff. Fayt stood next to Roger and Adray when the young Menodix noticed the time, "Hey Fayt, we need to leave if we're going to make it back to Peterny in time to pick up my new outfit."

The Earthling nodded in agreement, "I didn't realize how late it had gotten, guess we'll have to leave without Cliff."

Adray spoke, "In that case, I'll accompany you two, and I need to pick up some materials there anyways. Shall we leave them a note?"

Fayt nodded, "Sure."

…

On the other side of Arias Cliff and Claire had finished their meal and were now walking along a slew of houses that were still amidst reconstruction. Many of them seemed to be in worse shape than when Cliff had left the planet after the war. A breeze rolled through as the Klausian questioned Claire about it, "Hey Claire, it's been two years, why aren't these houses fixed yet?"

Claire sighed before answering, "Well, many reasons. The number one would be manpower, many of this towns adults were killed in the war. That large blast outside of town took a lot of life. The majority of the people left are struggling to provide for their families. The Queen already provides food for the people, and that doesn't leave much money left to fund reconstruction." Claire pointed at a large stack of wood, "We have a bit of materials here now though, but Most of the people here don't have much knowledge when it comes to construction, and the ones that do are usually off working to make funds for their families."

"I see the problem…and you have been taking care of all these people," Cliff glanced at here, "So would you like some help building?"

She smiled and glanced at him, "That's not your responsibility."

Cliff spoke, "I disagree, those attacks happened thanks to Fayt and my presence on this planet."

She spoke calmly, "These homes were destroyed on account of our war, not your presence."

Cliff laughed, "You're too stubborn, you and Nel are a lot more alike that you'd think."

Claire laughed, "Maybe so."

Cliff sat down on a piece of rubble left over from one of the houses, "Look, I'm actually quite an engineer, you forget why you wanted my help the last time I was here? And Fayt is probably better with architecture and engineering than I am. So just let us help, I'm sure he'll feel the same way."

She conceded, knowing he wouldn't take no for an answer, out of genuine appreciation she bowed, "Thank you, that would be a great help."

The Klausian clapped his hands together, "Cool!" He stood and walked into the rubble, he started sorting through it, "best start by separating what's reusable from the trash."

Claire was surprised as she spoke to him, "You don't have to start right now!"

Cliff groaned as he hefted a massive boulder over his head and threw into the scraps pile, "No time like the present! I can at least work until the sun goes down."

First she was flustered, then she felt guilty as she started to move some rubble around, "I'll help then."

Cliff glanced at her as he pulled a good two by four out and threw it into the good pile, "You don't have to."

She retorted as she rolled up her sleeves, "I want to, all part of my job after all."

Cliff laughed, "Hard working women ARE impressive…but don't break those tiny arms."

She scoffed, then laughed through rosy cheeks, "That's rude you know."

The Klausian only answered by Chuckling. Then the two of them commenced with their work. Claire bearing a smile and Cliff bearing a heap of sweat.

…

The sun had disappeared over the horizon and the last streaks of light struggled in vain to hold onto their place in the sky. Now that it was nearly dark, on the far eastern side of Peterny a small bar was livid with noise. Patrons sat happily chattering in and outside of the building. The smell of booze and food permeated the air. A group of three men noticed as they approached it, the eldest of the three being the first to comment, "This place is as busy as ever, it is always this way at the end of the work week."

Fayt had listened then replied, "Is this The Biting Kid Adray?"

The elder man nodded, "Indeed."

The youngest of the three scratched behind his ear as he commented, "That pretty lady's shop should be around the back of it then right?"

The earthling continued around the tavern, "That's what she said."

The three of them rounded the building and spotted a small building with a beam of light shining through a window on its front side, Fayt spoke, "That must be it."

The three of them approached the building when Roger railed on the door with obnoxiously loud knocks, apparently he felt like waking the gods from their slumber, the door was quickly opened and revealed a snarling woman, "HOLD YOUR HORSES!"

She recognized her visitors and the snarl on her face was aptly replaced by a beautiful grin, "Oh, hey guys, come int."

As she turned to walk in, Fayt had a thought, " _Bi-polar much_."

Both Adray and Roger walked in behind her before Fayt, the elder man exclaimed, "What strange looking clothing!"

Roger was elated, "I think they're cool!"

Fayt stepped in behind him and was shocked. Though the shop was small, it was stuffed to the brim with clothing. To Fayt, they seemed far more modern than anything else on the planet. They actually reminded him of the styles and materials used on Klaus and Earth. Though before he got a chance to remark about the clothes, something more intriguing caught his eye. There was a small desk covered in thread and needles just past the front door of the shop, obviously Welch's work station. Though, the interesting item was the small lamp that sat upon the table. The base of the lamp had what Fayt recognized to be a solar panel attached to it. The body of the lamp was comprised of a small switch with many small flower decorative etchings, and the top of the lamp held a small glass globe that light was shining from. The earthling new it was a device that was transferring light energy from the sun into electricity and making the bulb light, but he didn't know how Welch had gotten her hands on it, so he asked, "Welch, where did you get this lamp?"

Adray walked to the back of the shop and began browsing clothes while Roger and Fayt payed attention the girl, She smiled broadly and answered the earthling's question, "Oh that thing, isn't it the cutest little device? Do you remember Meryl, the girl that did some inventing for us?"

Fayt remembered the long blond hair and loud attitude the girl carried, "Yeah, she was an engineer."

Welch continued, "Well she made it for me."

Fayt replied, "I see." He pondered in his head, " _This sort of technology shouldn't be on this planet…I wonder_ …," his thoughts shifted into spoken word, "Did Meryl make those communicators we used for the inventing company?"

Welch nodded, "Yup she sure did, she's from Greeton you know, all of you guys from Greeton are engineering geniuses."

Fayt didn't respond immediately, taking more time to think, " _So Meryl is from Greeton, Nel said that those bi pedal motion robots were used two hundred years ago and that they came from Greeton, now Meryl made communicators and solar lights…she also knew about the Dremela Tool Company, and the only way that's possible is if she had contact with the outside planets…perhaps Cliff and I need to take a trip to Greeton to investigate_."

Welch had grown irritated watching Fayt get lost in his head, she waved a hand in his face, "Excuse me, something wrong?"

Fayt jolted out his thoughts, "Uh, no, sorry."

Welch giggled, "You space out a lot, Hey, Question." She leaned in close to Fayt and quietly asked why Adray wasn't wearing a shirt, so he answered with the same answer he used to get for the same question, "I have no idea, I've never seen him with a shirt on. I always figured it was a fighting thing."

Welch nodded, 'That or he's just a wierdo…So," she turned to face Roger, "You ready to try on your new outfit?"

Roger bounced with excitement, "Yes, Please!"

The slender woman walked to a shelf that sat behind her desk, she grabbed a box that sat upon the shelf, then handed it to the teen, "Here you are."

Roger sang, "Awesome." He pulled out two articles of clothing from the box, the first being a shirt. It was slim and black, and made of a thicker elastic material. It was cut at the shoulder to allow extensive motion with the arms, and form fitting to adjust to his body. Welch had sewn red trim around the neck and arm holes, along with the base of the shirt where it wrapped around the hips. Roger immediately unclasped the top of his overalls and pulled off the shirt he wore under it, he threw the tattered thing to the floor and pulled his new shirt on, he was overflowing with glee, "It's so warm!" He moved his arms in mock axe swinging motions, "It's so easy to move in! Nice and snug, Check it out Fayt, it's a lot like Cliff's clothes!"

Fayt smiled and nodded, "It sure is, it looks good!"

Welch chimed in, "I made it out of very durable fabric, it should hold up well in a fight, and since it's stretchy, you can grow into it! Try the pants!"

The Menodix nodded, "Ok!" He lifted the pants and marveled at them. They were made of a more solid material than the shirt, though they were the same shade of black. There was a hole in the back shaped to fit the boy's poufy tail. They bore a single red stipe on the outer sides of both pant legs that extended from the hip to the ankle. Roger wasted no time and stripping down to his underwear, kicking off his old coveralls and placing his axe on the ground as Fayt hollered at him, "You need to learn some manners Roger, there's a girl in here!"

Roger ignored him as he started pulling the pants on. Welch laughed, "I don't mind, it's not like I have a changing room in here, I'm used to it as a tailor."

Fayt nodded, "Right."

Roger had successfully slid his tail through the hole and pulled the pants up to meet the shirt, he quickly buttoned them up when Welch handed him a belt. He took it gleefully and fastened it around the waist. Welch grabbed two more articles from her table and approached Roger, she asked how the tail hole felt, and he replied with a happy nod before she spoke, "Good, I noticed you carry that axe so I made you this," she held up a small leather object, then knelt and fastened it to the belt over his right hip, "See, it's a holster for the axe, try sliding the axe handle into it."

Roger nodded, he grabbed his axe from the floor and did as she bade. He slid the axe handle and smiled when he noticed how it sat in the holster. There was a circular hole for the handle and a leather pouch that the axe head fit snugly into, all to be secured by a single leather fasten with a button that locked it in place. Roger was all giddy when she spoke again, "Nice right? It will keep the blade covered and all you have to do is unclip the button for easy access."

Roger had been too preoccupied worshipping her handiwork to notice that the woman had been kneeling down at eye level with him as she fastened a second pouch to the other side of his hip, she spoke, "This one you can carry anything you want to in it, kay?"

She glanced at Rogers face, awaiting and answer, but poor Roger had a massive blush on account of her close proximity to his face, he didn't answer, so she asked again, noticing his fluster, "Do you like it?"

This time she made eye contact, so he heard the question with gutsy intention and managed a muffled answer, "Mmhmm."

"I'm so glad! My fashion hasn't caught on yet in this town, so thanks Roger, this will be good advertising." She kissed him with a peck on the cheek, "Take good care of it, Ok?"

Roger's face turned a deep shade of crimson, the likes of which made his words come out in random syllables as he nodded to the girl. All to be followed by the boy falling to the ground on his back in a girl crazy daze. Fayt laughed aloud, "I think you killed him."

She laughed, "Aww, but he's such a cutie, he better live, he'll be a heartthrob when he gets older."

Fayt lifted the boy and sat him in a small chair next to the table, "Probably, especially with ears like that, girls love kitty ears."

They were both laughing when Adray returned from his browsing with a large vest in hand, it had a similar color scheme to the Kilt he typically wore during his travels, brown and maroon. It was thick like a coat and had a large animal fur covered collar. The elder man questioned Welch, "How much for this coat?"

She answered quickly, "It's not a coat, it's a vest, and its 150 Fol."

Adray lifted up one side of his kilt and pulled a small pouch out from the inseam of one of the socks he wore, he fetched some money and passed it over to the girl. She ran over to her desk and calculated the change. While she did so, Adray pulled on the vest, it covered the majority of his torso, save a section of his neck, and it came down to his hips, sitting flush with the katana he carried, It made Fayt laugh, "I've never seen you wear this much clothing."

Adray boasted, "I'll need it for the winter, my last one was shredded in a battle!"

Fayt replied, "If it's for winter, why not buy a coat? That doesn't even cover your arms."

Adray laughed and looked him in the eye, "I'm no pansy boy, bahahahaha."

Fayt just shook his head, "At least it matches your kilt."

Welch agreed, "You have a good eye, the colors match well, and here ya go." She finished by handing him his change. He returned it to the small coin purse and motioned to slide it back into his sock when she stopped him, "Don't put your money in your sock, Let me see that!"

She snatched his coin purse and slid it into a pocket that was on the inside of the vest, "There are also pockets on the other side."

Adray nodded in grand approval, "How convenient!"

He then headed to leave the building, he ushered a thank you to Welch, then spoke to Fayt, "I'm going to go grab a drink at the bar outside, I'll be sitting out front when you're done here, so come meet me then."

Fayt's response was simple, "Sure, see ya then."

As the old man disappeared through from the building, Fayt shifted his focus to Welch, "So Welch, How much do we owe you for Roger's Outfit?"

She walked towards her desk and picked up a piece of paper, "Well actually, Instead of charging you, I was hoping you guys could do me a favor instead," She handed the paper to him, "You recognize that Monster?"

Fayt glanced at the paper, it showed a picture of a large purple lizard with a curled tail. Fayt actually did recognize it, "Yeah, these live in the Duggas forest east of Peterny."

She nodded, "Right, well I got a special order request for a set of boots that are made from the skin of those Lizards. I was going to hire a hunter from town, but they're all loudmouth drunks, so I don't have anyone who can go hunt one of these down. So," she shifted her hips to lean on her desk and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "If you two are willing to go hunt one of these down and bring it back here so I can use its hide, the clothes are your reward. Sound good?"

Fayt nodded, he placed a hand on the hilt of his new sword, "Sure, I've been wanting to try out my new sword anyways."

She nodded, "Good, We'll leave first thing in the morning then!"

He raised an eyebrow, "You want to go?"

She nodded, "Of Course!"

Fayt then picked Roger up and slung the coma induced boy over his left shoulder, then headed towards the door, "Alright Welch, we'll see you tomorrow then, we have to go find a place to stay tonight."

She replied, "Well, I'd invite you to stay with me, but I also sleep here, so there's no room."

Fayt smiled, "No worries, we'll just hit up the inn."

She placed a finger on her lip, then pointed as she spoke, "Try the Biting Kid, the fancy hotel across town is always booked up on weekends."

The blue haired earthling spoke a thanks as he left, he hoisted the Menodix through the doorway and headed out to find Adray.

…

Back in Arias the sun had disappeared, the town being illuminated by nothing more than the occasional lamp and the starry sky, the moon had been absent so far this evening, leaving the eager viewer devoid of its bright glow. The darkness found Cliff still working his way through the foundation of an old destroyed house. He'd been immersed in the work when a chattering noise caught his attention, it was faint and he looked around for the source. He spotted his feminine company to be the source, She was slowly moving her arms in a vain attempt to warm them, he noticed how pathetic her froze frame was when he asked, "Is that your teeth chattering?"

She didn't look as she replied, "N-N-N-NO."

The Klausian walked over and placed a hand on her bare shoulder, "You're shivering like crazy, why didn't you say something, let's get you Home, too cold, I can see my breath."

She gave a chatter filled response, "I'm F-F-Fine."

He laughed, "Ha, no you're not, don't be stubborn, I'm done working anyways." He turned her body away from the housing and put his right arm around her shoulder, using his right hand to rub her right arm in an attempt to friction heat it. Then the two walked across town in this manner all the way to Adray's home. They found a note on the front door, so Cliff snatched it up. They entered the house when Cliff asked, "Fireplace?"

She nodded, still shivering, unfortunately for Claire, no one had been home to start a fire, so it was just as frigid in the building as it was outside. "L-L-L-Living roooooom."

Cliff proceeded to lead her to the large room, amongst the furniture, one particular loveseat was rested closer to the fireplace than any other couch, so Cliff had Claire take a seat there. Next to the fire place was a large stack of firewood, thin kindling was in front, with the larger pieces in the back. Cliff opened the flute and placed many pieces of kindling one the metal rack, then several larger logs upon them. He glanced around, searching in vain for matches. He turned to Claire, "Matches?"

She stood and moseyed her way over, "Here," she extended her hand and used her Symbology to ignite the Kindling. Then quickly returned to her seat, balling up to stay warm. Cliff laughed, "Right, you both use fire elements, make it easy…So where are the blankets?"

She managed to stop her teeth from chattering, "Upstairs," she went to stand, but Cliff stopped her, "I got it, you get warm."

She nodded, so Cliff headed upstairs and located a bedroom, the bed was well kept, covered with a large red comforter and pillows. The large man stole the comforter and a pillow then headed back downstairs, he immediately covered Claire with the blanket, then placed the pillow behind her head. She offered a thank you while Cliff placed another massive log on the fire, he was silent during the process, only speaking when he turned back towards her, "Hey, make some room."

She'd been lying across the loveseat, so she lifted her legs from the second cushion to allow him to sit, once he'd sat, she spoke, "Want some Blanket?"

"Sure!" He pulled part of it over himself when he noticed how she had scrounged her body up to make space for his massive frame, so he offered her some compromise, "You can lay your legs across my lap if you want."

She shook her head, "That's okay."

He laughed, "Loosen up, you ain't gotta be business all the time, you're at home you know, besides, it will help you warm up faster."

He finished by pulling her legs across his lap, a slight blush grazed her cheeks, "Ok, if you insist."

They sat that way for a few minutes and warmed the chill from their bones as the fire began to heat the room. Claire finally being the first to speak again, "Thank you for helping today."

Cliff looked at her and answered, "Hey, no problem, I'm just sorry I froze you out, when us Klausians get moving, we are almost impervious to the cold. I sometimes forget that not everyone is like that."

Claire posed a question with genuine intrigue in her tone, "Klausian?"

"Oh yeah," Cliff glanced at the fire as a reaction to it popping, then continued, "Nel come off the planet with us, but you don't really know much about where we're from, do you?"

She nodded, "Yeah, Nel told us about some of it, but nothing about where you are from. She said that you never visited your homes. So what's a Klausian?"

"It's the world that I'm from, it's called Klaus, all the people born there are called Klausians, and we tend to have high physical capabilities."

She nodded then asked, "Is Fayt Klausian as well?"

Cliff shook his head, "Nope, Fayt is from a different world, it's called Earth, so that makes him an Earthling. You live here on Ellicoor, so you're an Ellicoorian."

"I see," she sat up a bit as she questioned, "So if the two of you are from different worlds, how did you meet Fayt?"

Cliff laughed, "Long story, you sure you want to hear it?"

She nodded vigorously, "Yes."

So under the glow of the fire, the Klausian told the Ellicoorian all there was to tell about it.

…

Back in Peterny, Fayt and Roger stopped out in front of The Biting Kid to pick up Adray, they found the old man conversing with a group of three men, Adray seated at a table and the three men standing menacingly over him. Fayt walked up to the table, "Hey Adray, what's going on?"

Adray spoke mockingly from his seat, "These IDIOTS claim I'm in their seat, but I've been sitting here for the last twenty minutes and they just showed up."

The largest of the three men was roughly twenty five, had a well-defined torso, smelt of alcohol, and stood a foot taller than Fayt, he slammed his hand on the table, sending Adray's drink toppling off the table as he yelled, "Look old man, this is our reserved table! So beat it!"

The drink had toppled onto Adray, soaking his new vest and his Kilt, Fayt could sense that the old man had reached the end of his patience as the nature of his demeanor changed, evident by the angry tone in his voice, "Look you brats, Leave now or I will teach you a lesson in pain."

All three of the punks jeered at Adray until Fayt stepped in-between them, the Earthling pleaded to Adray, "Look, its best for us not to fight right here."

Adray seemed shocked, "Why, They deserve a spanking, stupid kids."

The largest of the here men snapped, "What!?"

Fayt turned to the man, "Would you please give me a minute to talk to my friend?"

The large man screamed, "I'm done talking!" He stepped forward and threw a wild right hook at Fayt. On reaction Fayt stepped towards the man with his left leg, bringing his left arm across his body and dropping his fist into the man's forearm. The successful block torqued the man enough to open his chest, so without hesitation Fayt spun on the ball of his right foot, turning his right hand into a punch that connected with the man's lower sternum, burying his forefront knuckles into his xyphoid process. Seconds elapsed and the large man had met his new friend, the ground. He doubled over in pain as Adray laughed maniacally, "AHAHAHAHAHA, that's more like it!"

Adray lunged out and punched one of the other two men square in the face. The third man, having seen his two buddies get laid out, turned to run, but was stopped when a sharp pain pierced his left side, he looked down to see the source. A Menodix was biting him! He slapped at the Menodix's head, so the boy let him go and tripped the man, throwing him backwards into the table Adray had been seated at, successfully crushing the table as if it were made of straw. Fayt face palmed, "Come on guys, you didn't have to do that much!"

Just then, the manager of the tavern came rushing out and ordered all six people to leave, and screamed about someone paying for his table. So Fayt, Roger, and Adray all headed to the center of town with the Earthling looking depressed. Adray asked for the cause of his misery, so Fayt explained that they would be taking a trip to Duggas Forest to fetch the Lizards and that they had just ruined any chance they had at staying at the The Biting Kid overnight. As Fayt shivered under the growing cold, Adray absolved his worry, "Don't worry Master Fayt, We don't need that Inn, I can get us a room at the other one."

…

Hours had passed since Cliff had begun to tell Claire about how he and Fayt ended up meeting. The two of them had fallen asleep on the small loveseat before Cliff could finish the tale. It was now roughly an hour after midnight when Claire awoke with a shiver. She lay on her back with her head on the armrest, a pillow cushioning her neck and a blanket pulled up to her neck. She shivered again, beckoning her a glance at the fire, which was now just a pile of fading embers. "No wonder it's so cold," she decided to go build the fire back up, but when she went to sit up, the blanket was unusually heavy, it weighed her down. She looked down at it and found that the blanket was no culprit, instead, Cliff had shifted in his sleep, and his legs were hanging over the other armrest while he lay on his back with his head rest on Clair's Stomach. She smiled, "He must have shifted in his sleep, I best not wake him."

She placed one hand under his head and used the other to slowly push herself backwards, managing to move his head from her stomach to her lap, she sat up. Before she moved however, she glanced down at his face, sitting above him gave her a clear, close view of sleeping man. She used her right hand to gently pull the hair off his forehead, she was looking at him affectionately when he opened his eyes and quietly said, "What's up?"

She pulled her hand away and turned her face so he wouldn't see the blush that occupied her being, she answered nervously, "Oh, just checking to see if you felt cold too, I was going to build up the fire."

The Klausian sat up, stretching his arms and wiping his eyes with a yawn, "Nope, you kept me warm," he released another yawn, "Down right feverish…need some help?"

"No, I got it."

He stood up and stretched, "Well then, I'm gonna go use the restroom."

After about ten minutes, Cliff returned to the living room. He found that Claire had the fire burning strong. She'd also changed out of her uniform and into some thick cotton sleep wear, a sight he found to be a surprise, they were cute. When she heard him enter the room she looked his way from her spot on the loveseat, she raised a glass in the air, "I got you something to drink, you thirsty?"

He took a seat next to her and grabbed the glass from her hand, "Yes please, thanks."

She nodded, "No problem."

He took a sip, then spoke with a bit of humor in his voice, "Its good…nice pajamas."

She looked down at them, "They look funny?"

He shook his head, "No, it's just that I've never seen you wearing anything other than your uniform."

She nodded, "Ah, I see."

A few moments passed when Claire noticed that the others hadn't returned, "Guess those three didn't come home."

Cliff remembered the note he'd received, he pulled it from his pocket, "Oh yeah, they left this," he read over it, "Oh, looks like they went to Peterny, they must have spent the night."

"I hope they are all safe."

Cliff glanced at her, "Those three, nothing to worry about."

She nodded, "I guess you're right."

Cliff sat his drink on a small table that sat flush with the couch, "Well, no need to worry." He shifted to lay back down and closed his eyes, "Suppose it's just us, fine by me."

The Klausian was asleep again within seconds, so Claire covered him back up with the blanket, then snuggled under it herself. She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes and fell back into a comfortable sleep.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it. P.S. What's some of your favorite songs or bands? Let me know and I'll listen to them.


	5. Foxglove Pt 2: A Girl Came In the Night

**This Chapter is also named after Foxglove by Murder by Death. I listened to a band called Fatherson While I wrote it, I would suggest either band whilst you read.**

 **I don't own Star Ocean, just wish they'd let me publish this as a book. (Disclaimer)**

* * *

Chapter 5

Foxglove Part 2: A Girl Came In the Night

Morning had graced Peterny, bringing the usual chirping birds and yawing humanoids. Three such people had just finished breakfast in a small dining room inside of an inn. The night prior, Adray had kept his word, having no trouble securing a room for them to sleep in. Apparently anyone named Lasbard or Zelpher had a permanent reservation. So they slept soundly. Breakfast was large, and when he finished his plate, the youngest of the three exclaimed, "That was tasty! How was yours Fayt?"

Fayt turned to the inquisition, "Good Roger, I'm full, how about you Adray?"

The elder man stood up and stretched his body, "Very Fine!"

As he stood, Fayt noticed that several other people in the Inn eyeballed the old man and chatted about him, "looks like you're famous Adray."

The elder man spoke, "Not really, probably more infamous, ha!"

Roger stood and joined him in a stretch, "He's just well known as the best fighter in Aquious, people even know his name in my village. They always talk about all the battles you've been in. That and how loud you are."

"Men should be bold kid!" Adray smacked Roger on the shoulder, then all three laughed. Fayt was the first to stop, the earthling made a jab, "I bet they're just wondering why you aren't wearing a shirt."

Adray cocked his head and pondered, "Think so?" He finished by pulling his new vest off the back of his chair and put it on, "Well shall we go?"

They all nodded and headed outside, running right into an unforeseen enemy, the weather. The temperature had dropped below freezing overnight, and though the sun had been up for an hour, it had done nothing to improve the chill. Fayt vocalized his complaints, "Geez it got cold! I didn't bring a jacket!"

Adray laughed proudly, "The weather is all over the place in this region this time of year, why do you think I bought this jacket?"

Fayt glared at him, "It's a vest, and great for you," the earthling noticed that Roger wasn't shivering at all, "Aren't you cold Roger?"

The Menodix shook his head to insinuate a no, "This outfit Welch made me is warmer than it looks, besides, I have thick hair."

Fayt watched his breath as he spoke, "Great, oh well, let's head to the west gate, maybe moving will warm me up…let's just hope that Welch isn't late."

It didn't take long to walk the short distance from the Inn to the Gate, and as they approached, Welch was spotted. She was dressed in Heavy clothes, The Jacket she wore was pink with black buttons, her pants were black, and her large boots were pink as well. She had warm muffs over her ears and large gloves on the hands that she was currently waving obnoxiously to garner their attention. Fayt was envious, so much so that he commented to her when they approached, "You look all warm and bundled up Welch."

The cold had turned her cheeks red, and her breath white as she spoke, "You like it?"

She did a spin and awaited the reply, Fayt spoke through his cold teeth, "Yeah, looks great."

Roger agreed and Adray boasted, "Suits a pretty lass such as yourself!"

She jumped excitedly, "Thanks, its part of my new winter set, if handsome guys like you three like it, then it should be a hit with many women in Aquious."

Adray laughed, "Good Point!"

Welch then looked to Fayt, "Fayt, where's your coat?"

Fayt shook his head, "I don't have one with me."

"Dummy," she poked him on the chest, "You were at my shop last night, you could have easily gotten one."

"I didn't realize it would be this cold."

She threw her hands up and let them fall, "Oh well. You're fault for not preparing."

Adray nodded, "Well said!"

Fayt gave both a sour look until Welch turned and placed her hand on a cart that sat behind her, she asked, "Who wants to pull the cart?"

The art was simple, it had two wooden wheels, one flat table like surface above them, two boards extended with handles, and one pole that was intended for the purpose of keeping the cart standing when not being pulled along. Adray eyeballed the thing and answered her question, "I'll pull it."

The elder man stepped forward and stood in position, grabbed the handles, and headed out the gate. He was quickly followed by the other three, Welch walked quickly to stand flush at Adray's side while Fayt and Roger walked a few feet behind them. The Menodix tapped Fayt's side, "Hey Fayt, did you hear what she said?"

The earthling glanced down, "Which part?"

Roger stuck his chest out proudly, "The part where she said I was handsome."

Fayt shook his head, "You have a simple thought process."

…

Duggus forest was a contrast to the last time that Fayt had been in it. Before it was lush with greenery, but now the changing seasons had all but eliminated the trees of their leaves. Every step the group had made resulted in a resounding crunch, crushing the autumn colored foliage that lay below their feet. Fayt had spent the trip rolling his shoulders and throwing mock punches, it helped to warm his body to keep it in motion. Fortunately for the Earthling, when they entered the forest, the trees served as a wind block, taking away the bite that the breeze had added to the cold. Fayt threw one last block and punch before Roger spoke, "Isn't that the same combo you used on that guy last night?"

Fayt nodded, "Yeah, Cliff made me practice it over and over again, it just came out of me."

Adray threw his own right punch, remembering the punch he'd planted on the other idiot's face the night before, "That means Master Cliff's training you well, muscle memory is the most important part of Martial Arts!"

Fayt nodded, then Welch questioned, "You guys got in a fight last night?"

The Menodix answered, "Yeah, some punks were picking on Adray, so we laid them out!"

She laughed, "I heard a commotion last night, guess that explains it."

They walked past a small glistening pond when Welch spoke again, "So where do we find these lizards?"

The earthling answered, "Well, last time we came, they were everywhere…but since Lizards are cold blooded, they probably moved into warmer areas," he thought a moment, then turned to Roger, "Hey Roger, you know this forest better than we do, do you remember where any of those boiling water springs were? Those ones we found while trying to help out that fairy?"

Roger nodded, "Yeah, I do, but why?"

Fayt glanced around the forest, "I bet we'll find the lizards there, hanging out by the warm water, lead the way?"

"Sure," Roger waved for them all to follow, so they did, Welch next to Roger, Adray behind them carrying the cart, and Fayt bringing up the rear. The Menodix lead them through the woods, it seemed a maze, and he the one who'd built it, having inside information on how to navigate it. As they marched, Adray and Fayt took the time to describe the lizard, mostly for Welch's benefit, since she'd never encountered one. They explained how hostile it was, typically attacking people on sight without warning, breathing toxic mist, and how they could turn invisible, blending into their surroundings. She convinced herself that she was prepared, but was proven wrong quickly. Roger spoke aloud, "We're here, the spring is right around this corner. He and Welch turned the corner into a large clearing, and before she could look towards the spring, she was falling backwards on account of a giant green lizard taking a swipe at her, it had reacted as soon as it saw her. With a stroke of luck, she'd managed to dodge the first swipe by falling on her butt, but she wasn't ready for the second that came whizzing toward her face. Before it made contact, Roger leaped in the way and picked her up, taking the swipe intended for Welch to the right side of his head. He winced from the immediate pain but stayed composed as he ran, carrying the girl several feet from the monster. It gave chase, but stopped when Fayt stepped in its way, he drew his sword and slashed at it, but the agile creature jumped backwards and dodged the blow. Fayt used the opportunity to yell to Roger, "Keep Welch safe Roger!"

The Menodix let her stand on her own when he hollered back, "Gotcha," he grabbed Welch's hand and ran towards the spring that sat in the back of the clearing, "Come on, Get behind me."

She did as she was told, putting her back to the spring and placing her hands on Roger's shoulders. She hunched to hide behind his back while the boy unclipped his new holster and pulled his axe out with his right hand and sat it at attention in front of his body. A drop of warm blood fell from the side of Roger's face and landed on Welch's hand, causing her to panic, "Roger! Are you alright!?"

He didn't budge, "I'm fine! Stay focused in case it comes at you again!"

So now the clearing sat full of action, Roger and Welch on its far side, Adray opposite them on the other side of the clearing, and Fayt in the midst in a staring contest with the monster. An idea came to Fayt, "I'll try to use the blazing sword."

He shifted the sword to his left hand and moved his right arm behind him and began channeling a fire spell, he then imbued the sword, "Blazing…Sword!"

The sword quickly a lit with flame, but far more than Fayt expected. It swelled like a small explosion, fire blew out of the sword so hard that it forced Fayt to drop the blade, knocking him backwards to the ground. He squinted in pain, "What the hell was that?!"

He shook his head dizzily when he noticed that the Lizard had charged him in his daze, it shot its tongue at him and hit him square in the chest. He reeled for a moment in pain, then watched the lizard come at him again, with no time to react, he braced for a hit, but instead watched as a fire bolt crashed into the monsters side, making it jump back. Fayt quickly seized the moment to stand, "Thanks Adray! But what the hell is wrong with my sword?"

The elder man yelled to him, "There's nothing wrong with the sword! I told you it's beset with runes, it magnifies the force of symbology, it takes WAY less power than a normal sword, you forced too much power into it and it had an overload!"

Fayt looked at the sword lying on the ground a few feet in front of him, it still resonated a few flames, but they quickly died out, "I guess I'll need practice."

Just like Fayt, the lizard had regained its composure, seeing this, Fayt ran for his sword and lifted it from the ground, without stopping he charged the Lizard, and it spewed purple mist at the earthling, so he dodged it. The lizard then rushed him so he took a swift swipe as it charged him, gashing it across its left eye while dodging another shot from its tongue. The monster made a shriek, then used its Trump card, it turned invisible. Fayt took a guarded stance then yelled, "Adray!?"

The elder man nodded, "Already on it!"

When the monster had turned invisible, Roger scooted even closer to Welch and braced himself. She asked, "What's going on, where did it go!?"

Roger snapped at her, "Be quiet!"

She shut her mouth with a quick snap, and listened intently. She noticed that all three fighters before her had grown silent, but what intrigued her the most was that Adray had his eyes closed and a hand extended in front of him. It stayed this way for about twenty seconds when Adray yelled, "Found you!"

Suddenly Adray cast a lightning spell, it descended from the sky above Roger and Welch, a bolt of electricity crashed a mere foot in front of the Menodix, striking the Lizard in the process and rendering it visible. Welch screamed and buried her head in Roger's back as a reaction, but Roger, on sight of the monster, instantly swung his axe upward, striking the Lizard on the bottom of its chin, gashing it and sending it several feet up in the air in Fayt's direction. Fayt took this as a chance to try an old move. He leapt high in the air to meet the lizard, then raised his sword over his head. With one clean midair downward swipe he decapitated the lizard as he yelled, "Aerial!" Fayt, the lizard's body, and its head all fell back to the ground at the same time. Roger and Adray both yelled, "Alright!" Welch came out of the fear surprisingly easy, "Serves that monster right!"

Fayt however was ogling his sword, pleased with how easily it had pierced through the lizard's spinal column, "This sword sure is sharp." He snapped the sword away from his body, whipping off what little blood had collected on it, then returned it to its sheath. He heard Welch yell in disgust, "Ew!" So he quickly turned around and laughed at the scene. Roger and Adray were laughing as Welch watched in shock as the Lizard's body convulsed on the ground, its legs twitching and its body squirming as the last of its muscle spasms ended in stagnant death. Once it had finished, Adray fetched the cart and brought it over to the creature. Together he and Fayt lifted the Lizard up by its legs and tossed it onto the cart, Fayt groaning amidst doing so, "These things are heavier than they look."

Adray laughed, "Don't complain," the elder man glanced at the girl, "So, will this work?"

She hesitated to approach, "It's not going to squirm again is it? That's creepy?"

Roger patted her on her back, "All lizards and snakes do that after they die. Don't worry, it's done."

She nodded and approached, she looked it over, then remarked, "This should be more than enough hide, even with that big hole you put in its back Adray."

The elder man laughed, "Good, then let's go!"

Adray and Welch walked off first, leaving Roger and Fayt laughing behind them, Welch turned and asked what was so funny, so Fayt pointed toward her waist, "You've got mud…"

Roger laughed and finished Fayt's sentence, "…All over your butt!"

Her face turned a deep shade of crimson as she started to brush away the caked up dirt from her butt, "Shut up! I fell on my butt during the fight, nothing I could do about it!"

Adray began to laugh along with them when he glanced at the sky and remarked, "It's snowing."

The whole group glanced around as flurries began to slowly occupy the air. Fayt looked at the snow, then down at his bare arms, "Let's hurry back before it gets too bad…and Roger, wrap up that wound."

…

The group had returned to Peterny from Duggus forest with general ease, the only hindrances being a large scorpion monster that was quickly dispatched by a simple lighting flare spell from Adray, and Fayt's constant shivering, which was dispatched by Adray telling him to suck it up. They now entered Peterny with a dusting of snow on the ground. The street was devoid of people, they'd hunkered into their homes and the soothing scent of firewood burning filled the air. They passed by just two buildings when Welch stopped the group next to a large building with smoke pouring out of a smokestack on its roof, "This is the place."

Adray sat down the cart he'd been pulling, then all four walked up to the door. The door was solid and bore a bell that jingled as Welch opened it and stepped inside, all three of the men following suit, with Roger closing the door behind him. The first thing they all noticed was how warm the room was, a fire crackling in the corner being the source. They all stood in a large lobby like Livingroom. Along all the walls were mounts from different Ellicoorian animals, heads and hides galore. On the floor several rugs made from similar hides laid flush and even with the walls. It all gave the room a rustic hunting lodge Aura. The only thing missing from the room was other people. Noticing this, Welch called out, "Joseph!?"

A light voice carried back to her, "One second."

Roger, Adray, and Fayt were all admiring the regalia when a towering man ducked his head through a hallway and entered the room. He had dark hair and heavily tanned skin. The man must have been all of six foot five, and his body frame seemed that of a weight lifter. It fed into the shock caused by how soft his voice was when he spoke, it seemed unnatural out of such a large person, "Oh, hi Welch, I guess this means you got your hands on a lizard?"

He stood next to her, only feeding into the stark contrast of their heights when she answered, "Sure did, my friends here helped me hunt one this morning," she pointed at each of them and announced their names, "The older one is Adray, the blue haired one is Fayt, and the small cutie with the bandage on his head is Roger."

The large man stepped forward and shook all three of their hands firmly, "Nice to meet yall, my name's Joseph Masterson, I run this butcher's shop."

They all replied with their own version of nice to meet you too, Adray asked the man, "I guess that means you made all these hides yourself?"

Joseph nodded, "Yes sir, guess yall brought me one to work with today, shall we go take a look?"

Welch spoke with enthusiasm, "Sure."

The group went back outside, Joseph brushed away the snow that had collected on the lizard and inspected the creature, "The hide's in excellent condition, how did you slay it without damaging it, where's its head?"

Fayt spoke, "I cut its head off."

Joseph was surprised, "These things are quite difficult to hunt…I've never seen one in this good of condition, you must be quite the swordsman."

Fayt smiled broadly, "Thanks! But I had help."

Joseph thought a moment, "It will take several days to get the hide ready for you Welch…but what are yall planning to do with the meat?"

Fayt questioned, "The meat, is this thing even edible?"

Joseph nodded, so Adray asked, "Is it good?"

"Good?" Joseph laughed, "People around here consider this a delicacy, the meat sells for ten fol a pound."

"Wow!" Adray exclaimed.

Joseph continued, "If you don't want it, I'll pay you guys 200 fol for it and waive the fee for curing the hide."

Welch's eyes lit up, "Deal!"

Adray intervened, "Hold on a second there Welch," the elder man spoke to Joseph, "I don't mind that deal, but will you cut some steaks off for us?"

Fayt nodded, "Yeah, now I want to try it."

Roger made a sour face and mumbled under his breath, "Yuck."

Joseph Laughed and smiled, "Ha, no problem…give me about an hour, I'll get you some ready."

Joseph then fished 200 fol out of his pocket and handed it to Welch, "Guess I'll get to work." The large man pulled the cart around back of his shop when Welch handed the money she'd received over to Fayt, "Here, you guys just saved me even more cash, use this to pick up those supplies Adray came here for."

Fayt questioned, "You sure?"

She nodded, "Yup…so you guys going to wait for your meat here?"

Fayt looked at Adray, "No, we'll go get our shopping done."

She nodded, "Don't freeze ok," then she looked to Roger, "Roger, why don't you walk me home, I can clean up that cut for you?"

He nodded vigorously, the thought of going to a pretty girl's house fueled his vigor, "Sure."

So the two of them disappeared into the snow trodden town, leaving Adray and Fayt to themselves. The two of them made their way down to an outfitters store. Adray haggled with its owner for some supplies. He ended up leaving with a large bag of flour, sugar, some sort of beans that Fayt assumed were native to Ellicoor, sharpening stones for his Smithy shop, several pieces of unmolded steel, and to Fayt's surprise, a beautiful blue dress he assumed was for Claire. The elder man ended up ended up borrowing a cart from the shop owner as well, garnering the owner's assistance in loading up the cart as well. They said they're goodbyes and headed back to Joseph's shop. The two left they're cart of supplies outside and took a seat inside' the shop next to the fire. Fayt noticed he hadn't been affected by the cold as harshly for the last hour, "I think I'm getting used to the cold, just like when we were stuck in Airyglyph."

Adray laughed, "Maybe you just went numb!"

Fayt grinned with him, "Maybe."

After a bit of waiting, they heard the bell from the front shop door ring and watched as Roger walked into the shop, a bandage wrapped around his right ear and scalp, snow all over his furry head, and a coat draped over his shoulder. Fayt spoke to him, "Welcome back."

Roger shook his body in the same manner a dog would, successfully throwing the snow and melted water droplets off his new outfit. He approached the two men, "Thanks," he pulled the coat from his shoulder, shook the snow from it, and then handed it to Fayt, "Here, Welch told me to give this to you."

Fayt's eyes lit up, "Sweet." The earthling stood and held the Jacket out in front of him and admired the cool design. Its sleeves were blue, the body of it was white, and the neck hole was trimmed in blue, as was the base around the waist. Its design was eerily similar to the shirt she'd made for Roger. The only two differences being the color scheme, and the long set of buttons that ran down the center of the jacket. As he admired, Roger transferred a message from Welch, "She told me to tell you that is was a gift for helping today. She also said that you should wear the white and blue like you used to because this new black and white color combination your trying to pull off is abysmal, it makes you seem all gloomy."

Fayt laughed as he lay the jacket next to the fire in an attempt to warm and dry it from the snow, "She sure is walking attitude…It's not like I'm obsessed with black."

Adray chimed in, "I like it, that girl has gumption."

A voice from the back of the shop laughed, "She's been a ball of energy since she was a kid," Joseph appeared, walking to stand with the group, he was holding two large paper packs in his hands, "I was five years older than her and she tried to boss me around then, she got worse as she got older…but she was never mean about it, just gung ho and boy crazy."

Fayt smiled, "She's pretty awesome."

Roger nodded, "And beautiful!"

Joseph laughed again, "That's true," the massive man handed Adray the two packs in his hands, each bore a mark to differentiate them, "The top one is five pounds of ground meat, and the bottom one is five pounds of steak."

Adray boasted, "That was fast!"

Joseph nodded with a cocky grin, "Best butcher in the world you know!"

Adray shook his hand, "Well then, I know where to buy from now on! You should come to Arias and have dinner at my home sometime! My daughter is a hell of a chef! Bring that girl Welch along too!"

Joseph released Adray's handshake, "We'll have to arrange it sometime!"

With that, Fayt put on his new Jacket, and the group headed out, intent to get back to Arias before the snow could fall any harder.

…

The cool morning had escaped Cliff. The Klausian had slept in for the first time in a long time. It was already nearing noon when he awoke, his legs being shaken and his name yelled repeatedly. He'd been dreaming of a fight when his eyes opened to slight bright light, he could see the form of someone standing next to him, and being that the fight in his mind was still vivid, he threw a punch at the unknown person. The punch was slowed by the target, but still made some impact, causing the victim to complain, "Damn it Cliff, that hurt!"

The Klausian recognized the voice and it woke him the rest of the way, he sat up and stretched, then glanced up to find Fayt standing over him, the Earthling rubbing his stomach where Cliff had struck him. Cliff rubbed the back of his head innocently, "Sorry Fayt, was dreaming up a fight and I just reacted."

The Earthling gave a slight laugh, "No worries, I managed to dodge it for the most part…good thing too, you would have sent me through the wall…you sure slept late."

Cliff yawned, "What time is it?"

Fayt pulled his hand from his chest, "It's already almost noon."

Cliff responded with shock, "Whoa…guess I was exhausted," he then glanced around the room, not recognizing where he was until the previous night's events came back to him. He looked down where Claire had slept, then around the room, noticing her absence, he asked, "Where did Claire go?"

"Claire?" Fayt shifted, "I haven't seen her."

Roger and Adray walked in the room, each carrying a load of firewood, and each hearing Cliff's response, "Hmm, wonder where she went."

Adray gave his guess as he walked across the room and sat his firewood next to the fireplace, "She's at work, she never takes days off, she doesn't really know how to relax."

As Roger sat his stack of wood down, Cliff responded innocently, "She seemed relaxed last night."

Adray looked at the Klausian with eagerness, "What do you mean? What happened last night?"

Fayt knew why the old man was eager, Adray had even asked him to marry his daughter before they'd left Ellicoor two years ago. Having her married seemed to be one of the man's main life goals. Fayt grinned as he watched the elder man fight to contain his excitement. It was like watching a kid squirm in anticipation of a new toy. It just got worse when Cliff answered Adray's question, "Nothing much, we just sat here and talked for a few hours, she wanted to know how Fayt and I met, so I told her the story until we fell asleep…Man, I gotta take a piss."

With that, Cliff left the room, as did Roger, intent to chop more firewood. Now that the two of them stood in the Livingroom of Adray's home alone, Fayt asked Adray if he was alright, "You having a meltdown?"

Adray laughed excitedly and grabbed Fayt by his jacket with two full fists and shook the Earthling as he spoke passionately, Fayt laughing as the Elder man did so, especially since Adray's eyes were so starry as he preached, "Do you know what this means Master Fayt!? Claire NEVER lets down her guard with anyone by Nel, rarely with me! She even slept on the same Couch with him! She must be interested in Master Cliff!"

Fayt made eye contact with Adray as he asked, "Are you sure about that?"

Adray released Fayt's Jacket, "I know so, I know my daughter, she actually spent time with him alone, that's never happened before, she's always uptight and all business. This is amazing! What do you think, how do you think Master Cliff feels?"

Fayt actually put some thought into the question before answering, "Well, I can see him being interested in her…He has a thing for beautiful girls, and tough girls…Claire certainly is both…but I've never seen him get serious about a single woman before…he can be a bit of a womanizer."

Adray laughed, "I was a womanizer until I met Claire's mother…the right woman can set any man straight…and you can't deny they seem to have chemistry."

Fayt nodded, "That's true," the earthling kept the fact that he'd seen Cliff be charming with just about every woman he'd met to himself, "but I have to make a suggestion Adray."

The old symbologist answered, "What is it?"

"Don't try to force them to get together," Fayt sat down on the loveseat, "Cliff absolutely hates being forced into anything, he'll just stay away from her out of principle…and it's obvious that Claire doesn't like you trying to arrange anything."

Adray nodded, "I see, so the best plan is to observe, you're wise beyond your years," he proceeded to start a fire, "I'll heed your advice."

Within a few minutes, Roger had returned to the room with another load of split wood, and Cliff had rejoined the group. Cliff made a remark on how sharp Roger's new outfit looked, the boy spoke a thanks and Fayt made a joke, "Of course you like it, it looks similar to yours."

They then proceeded to fill Cliff in on the prior night and the morning's events. When Fayt mentioned the fact that he'd used the block that Cliff had taught him, the Klausian boasted, "And you complained when I made you practice it a hundred times."

Once they told the story of the Lizard and Welch, they listened as Cliff explained his plan for them to build some small houses for the people in Arias, and as he expected, they all agreed. With that plan in mind, They all headed out to get started when Fayt Pulled Cliff aside, the Earthling spoke low so only Cliff would hear, "So nearly all the clothes in Welch's shop look like Earth and Klaus designs, and on top of that, That girl Meryl made Welch a solar light powered lamp and those communicators. Turns out Meryl is from Greeton. We didn't get the opportunity to check it out two years ago, but I think we should this time."

Cliff nodded, "Yeah, that's weird, they must have a connection to the Federation somehow…that stuff shouldn't exist here, let's see about going to Greeton soon."

…

Roughly two hours had passed while the boys worked on the first house, they'd been fortunate in two facts, the first that the snow storm plaguing Peterny hadn't made its way south to Arias yet, so all they had to contend with was the cold. The second being that the foundation for the old houses were still intact, eliminating the need to build new ones. When they first arrived, Fayt surveyed the materials they had to work with. There were already several buckets of nails, various tools, and several useful types of wood that had been provided by the Queen. They combined those with the salvaged supplies Cliff and Claire had sorted the night before. Fayt drew up some plans and estimated that they had enough to build two twenty by twenty foot houses. Considering that the families in need only averaged two to three people per household, the earthling figured the size would be enough for the time being. So he assigned everyone with a job, He and Cliff were to start building the framework and walls. Adray was given the job to create ten 12 by 4 foot thin sheets of metal for the roof, and Roger was sent track down some ladders. Each man took full advantage of his time. Though they were simple, Fayt and Cliff had already built all four walls of the house and now they lay on the ground waiting to be moved upright. Simple 2 by 4's had been cut, shaped and nailed together in the exact fashion that Fayt had drawn up. Now that they couldn't proceed until Roger returned with some ladders, they took a break. Fayt took the time to warm his hands and to ask his friend a question, "So Cliff, you got a thing for Claire?"

Unlike Fayt, when Cliff was asked this sort of question he didn't get all red in the face and defensive, he simply gave his direct and honest answer, "Maybe, She's a cool chick, bonus is she's a total hottie."

Fayt breathed some air into his hands and rubbed them together, "You should ask her out."

Cliff took the time to glance at the burns on his hands, noticing the improvement he answered, "What good would that do? It's not like I could start up a relationship with her, we live in different worlds, literally." He laughed at his own joke then continued, "She's also not the type to have a one night stand with ya know. I'd feel guilty if I just slept with her and left."

"We have a ship you know," Fayt nudged his shoulder, "And it's only twelve hours away."

Cliff laughed, "That's a long way to go for a date kid."

"I guess so."

Cliff grinned and spoke sarcastically, "Worth it if she's hot though."

Fayt Laughed along with the Klausian, "Fittir's guide to interpersonal relationships, Chapter 2. Dedication: Only worth it if she's hot."

Cliff laughed even harder, "I may have to write this book."

As they sat for a few more minutes, they chatted about random things. Soon a group of four people approached. Three of them were pushing a large cart and the other carried a large ladder over his head. Fayt and Cliff stood to greet them when the front one ran up and dropped a ladder on Cliff's foot, "Wow! You guys already built the wall frames!"

Cliff lifted the ladder off his foot, "Watch where you drop stuff brat." The Menodix blew him off and ogled the walls, so Cliff turned and listened as the other three men approached. The front of the cart held Adray, guiding the thing, the other two were men, both on the back side pushing, each wore a runologist uniform, and were straining, no doubt from the considerable weight that the metal sheets Adray had built, all together weighing down the cart. Adray spoke a boastful hello, "I'm back, and I got all the sheets ready. These two volunteered to help me move em'"

One of the two runoligist's glared, "Volunteered? More like you made us…"

The other hit his buddy, "Lady Claire wouldn't be happy if we didn't assist her father."

Fayt laughed at their banter, but it was dissolved when Adray made them introduce themselves. They each sounded off, the first had dark hair and a tired look, "Hi, my name's Leon."

The second had lighter hair and a happy look, "I'm Dante."

Cliff stepped forward, "I'm Cliff," he pointed at Fayt, "And that's Fayt."

Both the runologist's eyes went wide, no doubt Fayt and Cliff's reputations on the planet had reached through the Aquarian army's ranks. The one called Dante nearly popped a vein, "You two are crazy famous, what are you doing here?!"

Fayt answered, "Building houses, you two want to help for a bit, we could use it putting up the walls."

They answered together, "Yes!"

So the next hour was spent raising the walls onto the foundation. Cliff and Roger lifted the first wall upright, then Adray, Dante, and Leon lifted a second, they set the walls together at a ninety degree angle. Fayt used the ladder to climb where the corners met and tied some rope to hold the walls together, then he tied them together at the bottom. He then had Adray help him lift the third wall and connect it to one of the others. Once they were tied, all five men were able to let go and lift the fourth wall, the other three walls bracing themselves. Fayt quickly tied the last wall at all four corners. Now the Skeleton of the house was up, so each man was given a hammer and nails. They sat each corner flush and drove nails from top to bottom at each corresponding corner. Fayt then removed all the rope, as it was unnecessary, all four walls were up and connected. Once this was done, the two runologist's had to head back, Leon speaking with a laugh, "We have to head back, Lady Claire had to leave town today, we're technically supposed to be watching over the headquarters…she'll ream us if she finds out we left post."

They scurried away as Cliff hollered, "Thanks for the help!"

It was only three o'clock, so they still had several hours of light to work with. Without wasting any time, they got started on the roof. The first part they did was nail five runner boards across the roof, Roger and Adray would pass the boards up, Fayt would steady them in place, and Cliff would nail them in. Once this was done, they measured out ten boards, cut 45 degree angles at each end, then installed all ten flush with the runner boards, creating the skeleton of an A frame angled roof. The simplicity of the design allowed them to work quickly, and now that the skeleton was complete, Fayt came down from his perch and issued some more orders, "Alright you three, I'm going to start building a door. So you three can start putting up the side boards for the walls and roof."

They nodded, then Cliff spoke, ""Let's do the roof first, that way we can get those metal panels on before any snow gets here. Keep this structure dry."

Adray nodded, "It should only take the two of us, Roger, why don't you help Fayt construct the door."

The menodix nodded, "Sure."

Fayt motioned for Roger to Follow, "Let's go look through the scraps and see if we can find some hinges for the door."

It didn't take long for them to search the rubble, Roger ended up spotting an old door from one of the destroyed houses. He and Fayt only had to lift one large stone to pull it out. The door itself was damaged, but the hinges were left unharmed. They used a metal bar to pry the hinges free, but poor Fayt, upon removing the second hinge, accidentally smashed himself on the forearm with the pry bar. It busted blood vessels, he complained, "First Cliff punches me, now this, I'm gonna fall apart."

Roger laughed at him until Fayt smacked him on the head in irritation, "Shut up kid."

Roger stuck his tongue at the Earthling, "Bully."

Fayt laughed at him, but upon glancing past the boy, he noticed something in the rubble, he handed Roger the hinges and walked past the menodix. He hefted a round metal object from the rubble. The two of them walked back to the house when Fayt yelled up to the roof, "Hey guys, look what I found."

Cliff and Adray had already finished nailing down roofing boards across one half of the house, they were now standing on the boards when they glanced down, Adray the first to speak, "Is that a fireplace?"

Fayt nodded, "Yeah, and the whole smokestack is over there unharmed. So make sure to cut out a hole for the fire place in one corner of the roof."

Cliff nodded, then raised his hands and punched a hole through the board he stood on, "Sure, its in."

So it went, Fayt and Roger finished the door. Cliff and Adray finished laying down the roofing boards. Then all of them worked together to nail in the long thin ply boards around the building until the skeleton was gone and the house was clothed in walls. The door was installed, and then the fire place. The lack of windows made it difficult to see inside, so they cut out two square spots on the walls for windows, deciding to install the glass later. Lastly, they installed the metal roofing panels, Roger would Steady them, Cliff and Fayt would nail them in, then finally, Adray came behind the three of them and used his Fire symbology to Weld them all together, ensuring they were leak proof. By this time, the sun had started to set, leaving nothing but cold air and darkness falling. The group took this as their cue to call it for the day, they stepped out front when Roger made a resounding declaration, "I have to eat! We didn't even have lunch!"

As if that was the trigger, his comment reminded them all of their stomachs, there seemed to be a unanimous growl from each of them. Adray boasted, "Come, dinner is on me tonight!"

…

It was already well past dark on Klaus when two women approached a secluded home, one was blond and the other had peculiar blue hair. The blonde approached and knocked on the house's front door. They waited a few minutes before they railed again. When there was no answer, one of them spoke to the other, "I've never been to their house before Mirage, are you sure this is their house?"

The woman called Mirage gave her cohort a sour look, "Yes, Cliff's family has owned this house for several generations, it's the only thing Cliff ever let his Dad give him."

Before they could continue, they heard someone approaching and a voice call out, "Hold on, I'm coming."

Suddenly the door opened and revealed a sixty year old version of Cliff, same blond hair, and built like a mountain. The man immediately recognized Mirage, "Oh hey Mirage, what's up?" He then glanced at the Blue haired girl, "Who's your friend?"

Mirage answered coolly, "Oh this is Maria."

The man extended his hand and Maria met it with her own, he spoke strongly, "I'm Klyde Fittir, nice to meet you."

Maria nodded, "I'm Maria Traydor, same to you."

He released her hand when Mirage cut in, "So Klyde, are Cliff and Fayt here?"

He lifted his arms and let them fall in the same manner Cliff always did, "No mam, they left two days ago and didn't say a word. I was just here dropping off some new training equipment for Cliff."

Maria replied, "Do you know where they went?"

The massive man stepped outside, locking the door behind him, "No mam, all I know is that they left the planet. But if you ladies will excuse me, I have a class to run in about twenty minutes, I need to get back to the dojo."

Mirage spoke a serious thanks, "Thanks you for your help."

He nodded, "Sure, and hey Mirage, you should come train soon, don't need to get rusty."

With that the man left, leaving Maria to question Mirage, "Was that Cliff's father?"

Mirage laughed, "Pretty obvious isn't it?"

Maria nodded, "Yes…but I wonder where those two went…I seriously need to talk to them."

…

Cliff was elated when he found out that the small shop he'd had a sandwich at with Claire the previous day was in reality a tavern. They'd eaten outside the day before, no doubt the reason why he never discovered this fact. So now sitting on the Far East side of Arias was the small group of housing reconstruction specialists. Adray had boasted about how delicious they're food and alcohol were and his three companions were now reaping the benefits of the truth in the elder man's statements. Though the décor of the inside was still lacking (a fact that Fayt deduced was thanks to the recent opening of the tavern), the place was lively with a bubbly crowd, which gave it the homely feel that the boring room would have lacked without it. Upon Cliff's suggestion, all four of them had ordered the same sandwich that Cliff had tried the day before, the only change being Roger insisting on his having one tiny slice of meat. The sandwiches were indeed glorious, the bread toasted and buttered, the vegetables sautéed, the meat roasted, and all stacked and smothered with some kind of unrecognizable sauce that only the chef knew the secret of. The table was also occupied by booze for the elder three, Adray and Cliff were having a friendly drinking contest while Fayt slowly drink the stiff liquor that was thrust upon him. Adray took a large swig then spoke over the crowd, "Thanks again my friends, the people of this town will be in your debt!"

Fayt swallowed a large bite of his sandwich, "Don't thank us just yet, we're not finished, still gotta put in some windows and insulation."

Cliff was floating on account of the ale he'd tried, "Where are we gonna find windows?"

Adray hiccupped, "We'll have to take a trip to Airyglyph, they do a lot of Glass production."

Cliff clinked his glass against Adray's, "Sounds like a plan! Let's go tomorrow!"

The two of them downed their alcohol and ordered more. They were off in their own world when Roger asked Fayt a question, "But Fayt, how are we going to get to Airyglyph, when winter hits, the snowfall triples there and it makes it difficult to cross the mountains, like REALLY difficult."

Fayt placed a hand on his chin, "Really? That could be a problem…I wonder if we could get ahold of Albel, maybe the Dragon Brigade could help…but I don't know if they'd send an army unit if it was for something as trivial as buying glass."

Cliff didn't like the serious contemplation on Fayt's face, so he nudged the earthling, "Don't worry about it, we'll figure it out tomorrow," the Klausian picked up the drink he'd given to Fayt and handed it to him, "so for now, Drink!"

Fayt laughed, "Alright," then he slammed the drink, "That burns like hell!"

The menodix shook his head, "You guys are nuts."

About ten seconds lapsed and Fayt hiccupped, then giggled, then spoke slurred, "What wassssh in that driiinkk?"

"Hard liquor," Cliff laughed, "Looks rough HAHAHA!"

Adray noticed that all the food was finished, "Let's go home guys, I've something to show you!"

The elder man stood and slipped, but caught himself. He paid their tab, then all four headed outside, three in a drunken stupor and one in awe of their antics.

…

The day had been taxing for Claire when she finally returned to Arias. Night had fallen two hours ago. She'd nearly considered staying the night in Peterny since it had grown so late. Her orders to inspect the current unit of Runologist's in Peterny took the entire day. Though there were only thirty soldiers stationed there, assessing their Runology and hand to hand skills was a huge job. When her carriage came within viewing distance of the lights of Arias, she couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief. Though she wasn't fortunate enough to get to go home just yet, she entered the east side of town and headed straight for the headquarters to report in.

…

Roger, Adray, Cliff, and Fayt had all gotten back to Adray's massive home when the elderly man led them through the house to the back. None of them had seen what was beyond it, so when Adray said he was going to surprise them, they were all eager. Adray opened the back door and they stepped into the yard. They followed him a hundred yards down a small path, suddenly Adray stopped, "Here it is!"

The other three stepped forward and all exclaimed together, "A Hot Spring!"

The secret of Adray's was a hot spring, steam raised from the water, and small lightning bugs surrounded the pond, giving the night an illustrious touch of happiness... Without hesitation, all four of them ripped off their clothes and ran in the water. Cliff lead the way, Adray followed, then Roger, and finally Fayt. Fayt was not usually the type to jump into a hot spring stark naked, but the alcohol had eliminated his embarrassment, as did the fact that the other men had done the same, so the Earthling tossed his clothes and cannonballed in.

…

Claire made her way home quickly after checking in at headquarters. She left the days assessment sheets on her desk and boogied to the house. Tonight she'd been wiser than the previous day, garnering a massive coat to fight for warmth. She was glad when she stepped into the mud room of her house, expecting to step into warmth, no doubt her father would have a fire raging and the entire group of visitors would be warm and cozy next to it. These thoughts were dissolved when she saw her breath and the house was dark. She spoke aloud to herself, "Hum, guess they're not here." She'd looked forward to seeing Cliff and finding out if the others had returned yet. "Oh well," she let out a deep breath and lit a lamp, then navigated to the fireplace. She nearly fell over a loveseat, the night was unusually dark, clouds blocking any light from the stars. She stacked the fire place, checked the flute, and then lit the thing. She let it warm her hands before she stood and sat down. The blanket that she and Cliff shared the night before lay on the loveseat still, she smiled at it, then pulled it over herself, speaking aloud to no one again, "This house is kind of lonely when no one is here."

She'd stayed this way for just five minutes before deciding to take advantage of the free time, "Guess I'll take a bath." She collected a towel, soap, and a change of clothes then headed out behind the house, intent on jumping into the hot spring and warming her bones. She approached a slight hill that the spring lay past. As she neared it, she could feel that even the air around the spring was warmer. She stepped over the hill and looked out over the barren pond, she smiled at the lighting bugs, "Pretty."

She surveyed the calm water and watched the steam rise, "Looks nice tonight." She lay her towel across a log that stuck out from the water, then removed her coat. Next she unclipped the top of her runologist uniform and let it drop to the ground, revealing her fair skin, slender frame, and bare chest. She bent over to pick up the uniform top from the ground when she heard a loud splash and a man shout a few feet in front of her, "Damn it Adray, we tied aga-!" The voice stopped mid shout.

A second man boasted, "And I'm taking it easy on you Master Cliff!"

Adray and Cliff had been in an underwater swimming race when they both popped from the spring naked and calf deep, showing off their full birthday suits. Cliff froze, his jaw dropping when he looked forward and saw Claire standing topless before him, her doing the exact same thing when she saw him. Claire's face grew the largest blush seen in history, she had frozen hunched over, so her breasts were completely uncovered to Cliff's view, and unfortunately her father noticed her presence, the elder man not reading the situation, "Ah, Claire, you came to swim! Come on in, the water is fine!"

Neither she or Cliff moved, both still frozen until her brain moved again, she'd been blushing on account of Cliff's nakedness, but when she finally registered her own nakedness, she quickly covered her boobs with her left arm while her face grew even redder. Unfortunately for Claire that wasn't the end of it, Fayt and Roger both popped up out of the water naked behind the other two. The splash finally triggered Claire's legs. She grabbed her things with her free arm and ran back over the hill towards the house. Fayt and Roger only caught a glimpse of her bare back, the Menodix speaking with a low tone to the Earthling, "Was that Claire?!"

Adray answered for Fayt as he yelled, "Wait Claire, I thought you were going to swim with us!?" The elder man was saddened, "Oh Well."

Fayt noticed that Cliff was still froze, so he poked the Klausian's face, "Cliff, Was that Claire, was she naked?"

Cliff didn't answer, so Fayt shook his Shoulder, "Cliff!?"

The Klausian finally spoke, "Holy shit!"

Cliff turned to Fayt and repeated it, "Holy shit man."

Fayt spoke, "What man?"

The alcohol fueled his male hormones, "She has amazing boobs man, and that body, holy shit man."

Fayt shook his head, "Pervert."

Adray laughed, "Its Lasbard blood! HAHAHA!"

Fayt gave Adray a funny look, "You're a bigger perv than Cliff, aren't you supposed to defend your daughters Honor?"

Adray gave Fayt a serious look, "It's not like he was peeping, it was an accident, and as far as I could tell she ogled him as well! HA! I don't care if Master Cliff sees her, more inspiration to marry my Daughter!"

Roger whispered to Fayt, "I wonder if he'd say that when he was sober."

Fayt didn't even think about it, "Probably, he's a weirdo."

Some sense of reality must have snuck through the booze and into Cliff's head as he climbed out of the water and got dressed. Fayt asked him, "Where you going?"

The Klausian picked up a jacket and soap that Claire had left, "I just remembered that Claire's pretty reserved when it comes to stuff like this, that probably embarrassed the hell out of her, I'm gonna go apologize."

Fayt nodded, "Good Luck."

…

Cliff found Claire in the Livingroom, she sat on the loveseat across from the fireplace with a blanket pulled up to her neck. He immediately beckoned, "You forgot some stuff." She must have heard him approach, as she didn't jump from the sudden sound of his voice. He walked around the couch and sat her jacket and soap on the ground in front of her. She hid her face under the blanket as he approached, so he joked, "Expecting me to be naked again? Ha!"

She pulled her face out and gave him a sour look, "No."

Though when she looked at him, she was shocked to see him bowing, before she could speak, he did, "I'm sorry, it was an accident and I didn't mean to stare…it's just…your such a beautiful girl and I'm a man, so it's hard not to. Can you forgive me?"

She blushed at the compliment and stuck her hands out and shook em side to side to insinuate for Cliff to stop, "Whoa, its ok," her soft voice and demeanor bled through, "I'm sorry I saw you as well, I know it was an accident, so I'm sorry too."

Cliff smiled, "Eh, don't worry about it, doesn't bother me none."

She laughed, "That sort of thing doesn't embarrass you?"

He sat down next to her, speaking while making eye contact, "Not really, you shouldn't be embarrassed either, just look at it as one more thing we know about each other, We're both beautiful naked."

Her face turned red again, prompting him to sarcastically apologize for the joke, "ah, sorry, figured a soldier would have tougher skin."

She scoffed at the jab, "My job doesn't require my getting naked or watching others get naked."

"Sounds Boring."

"It's not boring, I'm always busy," She started to explain all her duties when he stole her blanket and pulled it over himself, revealing the same pj's she wore the night prior. She attempted to take the blanket back, to no avail, she complained, "Give it back, it's cold in here!"

He tucked it in his sides, "I know right, good thing this thing is so warm."

She crossed her arms, "Stop picking on me."

He'd closed his eyes, but opened his left one and looked at her, "Alright…but I get half."

She slid under the part he gave her when he spoke, "I'm just trying to lighten the mood…you feel better now?"

She actually did, all the awkwardness was gone, and she nodded, "Yeah, I do."

They grew silent, Cliff staring at the fire and Claire looking at him. They remained this way for a while when Claire spoke again, "Hey Cliff?"

He snapped out of his fire watching, "Hmm, what?"

She sat up straight, "Would you want to…?"

She hesitated to continue, so he pried, "Want to what?'

She went to speak when she saw Fayt and Roger enter the room, thankfully clothed, Fayt was still buzzed, smiling broadly, when he spoke, "Hey guys."

Cliff glanced back, "Oh, you guys done?"

Roger nodded, "Yeah, I'm laying this guy down," the Menodix did just that, laying Fayt on another of the couch's in the room.

Another voice beckoned as its caster entered the room, "Did you two make up?!"

They all looked to find Adray naked and still wet from the spring. Claire snapped at him, "Father! Put some clothes on!"

Adray walked through the Livingroom and into the kitchen, retorting as he passed, "No way! This is too refreshing! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Claire face palmed and shook her head. Cliff laughed, "You're dad is crazy."

She sighed, "I know."

* * *

 **Long chapter. Hope you liked it.**

 **Pitch me some songs to listen to!**


	6. Built to Roam

**Thanks for the songs folks, Keep the suggestions coming please!**

 **This chapter was named after a song called "Built to Roam" by Shakey Graves.**

 **I don't own Star Ocean. (Disclaimer)**

* * *

Chapter 6

The following morning found the day to be greeted by a light dusting of snow. It wasn't much, but it was enough to cover the small town of Arias with a sheet of pure white. When Fayt awoke with a strong headache, it was the first thing he noticed. At some point in the night he'd ended up moving from his place on the couch and lay down in the sill of a bay window that visually connected Adray's large living room to his front yard. Fayt sat up and rubbed his temples, opened his eyes, winced at the brightness of the outside world, then finally noticed his current situation. He spoke aloud to himself, "Why am I in the Window sill?"

He heard some laughter, so he turned to the source, Cliff and Adray were sitting on the loveseat in front of the fireplace. Cliff wore his typical black outfit and Adray sat shirtless as per usual, each sat with a small blue coffee cup, the unknown contents sending streaks of steam up in front of their giggling faces. Fayt immediately questioned, "What happened last night?"

Cliff laughed, "You got wasted."

Adray boasted, "Indeed, perhaps you should be careful with spirits Master Fayt, You were so gone that you thought you were a cat!"

Fayt was taken aback, "What do you mean by that?"

The Klausian took a small sip of the steaming liquid, "Exactly what he said, you passed out on the couch, then you got back up and said something about missing you're cat you had when you were a kid, that it always kept you cuddly warm…that it would sleep in a window sill, Apparently you thought it best to show us how it would lay in the window…that's when you climbed in the window and balled up, you fell back asleep there."

Fayt's eyes went wide, his voice made an inflection as he spoke, "Seriously?"

Cliff stifled a harder laugh, "Seriously man."

Fayt shook his head, he spoke in bewilderment, "I never even owned a cat."

That triggered the two spectators to bust out laughing, Adray spilled his drink on his chest, "Ow! My tea!" Cliff accidentally spit tea forward from his mouth and all over his face, "Then where the hell did you see a cat?!"

Fayt shifted and slowly stood up, "I have no idea…"

The Earthling made his way over to the fireplace as soon as he noticed how cold he felt, even though he fell asleep clad in his jacket, the window sill was cold enough to chill him. He stood with his hands in front of the fire when his head pulsed with an ache, he rubbed the corresponding temple as he turned and motioned for Adray and Cliff to make room on the loveseat, "Scoot over."

They both did, allowing Fayt some space on the end, so the earthling sat down. Another small coffee cup and some sort of Thermos sat on a crooked wood coffee table next to Cliff. The Klausian poured some steaming liquid from the thermos into the cup, then handed it to Adray, who handed it to Fayt, the Earthling smelled it, "Smells sweet, what is this?"

Adray took a large drink from his cup, "It's a special tea for headaches. I grow the leaves myself."

Fayt looked at the cup suspiciously when Adray said he made it, he didn't trust it. Cliff saw his reaction, so the Klausian reassured Fayt, "Try it, it's really good, it helped my head too."

"Guess you two drank too much too…" Fayt took his first easy sip, he didn't plan to burn his mouth, he was shocked at the flavor, "Wow, this is solid."

Adray nodded, "Thank you."

Fayt rubbed his temple once more, "So where are Roger and Clair?"

Adray answered, "Claire left at daybreak for work, and Roger is outside doing his morning training."

Fayt laughed, "Hard workers."

Cliff laughed, "Guess that makes us lazy drunks."

Adray laughed, "I'm retired, I can do what I want."

Fayt defended himself, "Well we're on vacation."

The Klausian intervened, "It's supposed to be a training trip…why don't we eat and join Roger?"

Fayt's stomach grumbled, "Sure."

Breakfast was swift, Adray whipped up some sausage and fruit. Hastily eaten, they all headed out back of Adray's house and into the chilly morning. No more snow fell, but that didn't make their breaths any less visible. A few feet behind the home sat a snow covered small building that served as the old man's smithy shop sat flush with what Fayt assumed was a greenhouse, likely where he grew the herb's and tea he spoke of. Just past these was a two square acre clearing, it was bordered by dense foliage, held the entrance to the path that lead to the hot spring, and in the center of it was a Menodix throwing an axe into a large log that had been carved in the shape of a human body. As they approached, Adray hollered to the Menodix, "Enjoying that Target dummy?"

Roger had just finished a throw and was pulling his axe from the target when he answered, "Yeah! It's awesome!"

Soon all four stood together next to the target, Adray asked the Menodix a question once more, "Wanna try something even cooler?"

Roger nodded vigorously, "Yeah!"

Adray instructed all three of them to return to where Roger had thrown from before. They did so, then Adray walked over to a crank that sat beside his work shop. The elder man lifted a wire from the ground and clipped it to the interior of the crank. He began to turn the crank, the wire tightened, when it did so, the target Roger had been throwing at started to move from side to side at a fast pace, Adray yelled, "Try it now Roger!"

Roger stepped forward, lifted his axe in his right hand and studied the target for just a moment before slinging the axe with precision, it was a dead bullseye. Cliff and Fayt whistled, the Klausian praised him, "Geez kid, you've gotten even better with that axe."

Roger yelled as he retrieved the blade, "Mmhmm!" The Menodix ran up, "But Cliff, this morning I want to do hand to hand training!"

Adray returned to the group when Cliff answered, the Klausian gave Fayt a friendly fist on the chest, "Yeah, Let's get started."

"Master Cliff?" Adray spoke, "May I observe? I'm interested as well."

Cliff nodded, "Sure, but you can't just observe, you have to jump in then!"

Adray smiled broadly, "Very well then!"

…

Even though just an hour had passed, it allowed Cliff the chance to show the group some simple punches, different ways to hold their fists, and a strong thrusting kicks. He had them all practice them repetitively in the air, then finished the session with all four of them doing ten minutes of basic muscle training. They had decided to cut this session short so they could get heading to Airyglyph before the weather could intensify. Adray had dragged them all into a storage room in the back side of his home and packed them each a bag of supplies to carry. Snow shoes, cooking equipment, a tent, and other camping utensils were thrust upon them. It gave Fayt a question to pose, "Umm, Adray, why all the camping stuff."

The elder man led them into the kitchen as he replied, "The trip to Kirlsa should be easy enough, and just a few hours…but the trek across the mountains from Kirlsa to Airyglyph is difficult this time of year. The snowfall intensifies even more, it's a two to three day trip depending on the snow. That's why we need the supplies." Adray rummaged through the kitchen and filled a bag with vegetables, beans, and the Lizard meat he'd been given from Joseph. He threw it over his back when cliff questioned, "How deep does the snow get?"

Adray laughed, "Up to six feet sometimes in the low valleys."

Cliff slammed his fists together, "Sweet! Snow survival training!"

Fayt rolled his eyes, "Sounds great…"

Roger took a turn to speak, "The snow is taller than me…"

Adray placed a hand on the boy's shoulder in affirmation, "Don't worry, you'll be fine, I'll clear a path!"

…

The morning found Clair in Aquious. The beautiful city was cold, but no snow had fallen, the streams of water that cut through the city had yet to freeze, but the Clair hadn't been afforded that luxury, She was currently walking the perimeter of the City with two other Runologist's, embroiled in a border security review. They were on the Far East side of the city where it bordered a large River when Clair spoke her assessment with great pleasure to her subordinates, "Aster, Van, you're doing solid work."

The man called Aster was a thinly built, had bright red hair, and carried a longsword on his side, he nodded, "Thank you mam, we do random patrols throughout the day, nothing of import has happened recently, so it makes this work much easier."

The Man called Van was lanky, wore glasses that gave him the appearance of a book worm, carried a book at his side, and was quite short for man, standing roughly the same height as Claire. Van certainly seemed the opposite of a warrior. He scratched his broad brow as he answered, "Thanks milady, I will keep working out strategies to keep the country safe."

Clair smiled, "I'm glad I have such hard working comrades…so," Clair looked back up towards the main part of the city, "Shall we go find some lunch?"

Aster sighed in relief, "I thought you'd never ask!"

Van's stomach turned, "Let's go to my mother's restaurant, she makes hot soups on cold days."

Aster threw an arm around Van, "Awesome!"

The larger man dragged the shorter one off while laughing. Clair smiled at their antics then quickly followed them.

…

The trip to Kirlsa was as easy as Adray had predicted. The multiple massive lizards may have been a hindrance to normal people, but for Fayt's group, it was just good training. They slay two of them, and Adray insisted on taking them, now that he knew they were edible and could sell well, he wasn't letting them go to waste. He threw one over each shoulder, those combined with his backpack should have slowed the elder man down, but he didn't seem phased, laughing and joking about how delicious they'd be. They passed through the gate and into Kirlsa in this manner, A Glyphian soldier stationed at the gate gave them a nod as they entered the town. Like Arias, Kirlsa had been painted white, the only difference was the larger snowfall, they crunched step after step through a foot of snow until they reached a large Inn on the far west side of the town. Adray dropped the two large lizards out front on the ground and lead the group inside. The town was silent, but the inn wasn't, it beckoned Cliff, "Whoa, looks like a party."

The building was bustling, several large groups of people were intermingled throughout the first floor. They all chattered, ate food, drank, and laughed. Roger was awestruck at the sight of many beautiful women mixed in the crowd, he hoped to stay a while, which is what fueled his next question, "Hey Adray, why did we stop, are we spending the night here?"

The elder man shook his head, "Nonsense, we still have several hours before nightfall, we're just here to warm up and eat before we head up the mountain."

Roger drooped as his lovey dovey plans faded. Fayt glanced at Cliff, "Let's leave in an hour then."

Cliff nodded, "Sure, let me get a table."

Adray intervened, "Grab me something hot to eat, I'm going to go drop those Lizards off with a butcher."

Cliff nodded again, "Ok, don't get lost."

Adray smiled as he laughed, "Fat chance."

In the next few minutes the group had been served food and sat at a table, they had to speak up to hear over the commotion. Roger was stuffing his face with some sort of vegetable soup native to Ellicoor when Cliff asked Fayt a question, "How's the head?"

Fayt had been eating his own soup when Cliff asked, the earthling sat his spoon down, "Really good actually, that tea that Adray made was really effective."

Cliff laughed, "Yeah it did it for me too…but you know, even though it was because you were drunk, you slept all night."

A lightbulb triggered in Fayt's mind as his eyes lifted a hair, "You're right! Explains why my body felt so good this morning."

Cliff smiled, "Let's get you drunk more often."

Fayt shook his head and laughed lightheartedly, "No thanks."

"Adray's back," Roger swallowed a large potato chunk when he Noticed Adray's return. Adray approached and took a seat at the table in an unoccupied chair, a bowl of soup awaited him as well. Fayt asked when he sat, "Find a butcher?"

Adray fished a large bag from his pocket and dropped it on the center of the table, "Yeah, sure did, check these out."

The Menodix's curiosity led him to be the first to open the bag. He reached in and pulled out a handful of gold coins, "Whoa."

Cliff was impressed as well, "Is that gold?"

Adray laughed, "Yeah! That butcher's eye's nearly popped out of his head when he saw the lizards, he paid me three times as much as Joseph did…apparently they're even rarer here, so they garner a higher sale price."

Adray handed a handful to each man, "Here, we worked together, so we split the loot!"

Fayt and Cliff seemed happy as they pocketed the money, but Roger was on cloud nine, different images of things he could buy flashed through his mind, he stood from his seat, then he jumped and yelled, "I'm Rich!"

"Sir Adray?" Roger's antics were interrupted by a woman calling Adray's name. She weaved her way out of a group of drunks and approached the table. All four men sized her up, she was slender, well endowed, practically personifying the meaning of an hourglass, had dark black bob cut hair, and wore form fitting clothes. The top resembled a Runologist uniform, black with red trim, and her legs bore tight black leggings. She was buzzed from alcohol, but not so much that her cognition was gone. She continued, "That is you Adray, what are you doing here?"

Adray answered while his three companions admired her looks, "Ah, It's Rouge, long time no see, you stationed here now?"

The woman called Rouge snagged a chair from a table beside her, flipped the back in front of her, then straddled it like a horse as she sat down. It gave Fayt a closer look at her face, well defined jaw bones mixed well with the small bubble nose and dimples, all to be topped off with deep blue eyes. It was unknown to Fayt and Cliff that they had both deduced that she was an Aquarian Runologist, and also that they had the same thought in their heads, "Geez, every single one of these Runologist's are gorgeous."

They kept the thoughts to themselves as Rouge answered Adray, She placed a dainty hand on her chin, "I'm not stationed here, I came to discuss some joint assignments with Count Woltar...but enough about that, what brings you here," she pointed a hand towards the others, "Who are these guys?"

Adray spoke directly to her, "We're about to cross the mountains to Airyglyph, we need to collect some specialty glass. These are my friends, introduce yourselves."

Roger stood up straight, "I'm Roger!"

Rouge glanced to Cliff, He returned the glance with an introduction, "Cliff Fittir."

Her eyes lit up as she shifted focus to Fayt, "Does that make you Fayt!?"

Fayt nodded, "Yes Mam."

Rouge slapped the table with gusto then leaned in towards Cliff and Fayt, "Is it true that you two beat Shelby and Vox!?'

Cliff laughed, "Yeah."

She leaned over the table and in uncomfortably close to Fayt, bringing her face inches away from his, he could see the excitement and beauty on her face…as well as smell the alcohol on her breath, he blushed and pulled his head back a bit as she asked, "Did you really beat Albel in a one on one swordfight!?"

He was flustered as he answered, "Y-Y-Yeah."

She went back to her sitting position then laughed, "HAHA, I fought that sissy once."

Cliff was into this girl's wild recklessness, he replied swiftly, "You fought Albel huh? How did that go?"

Rouge ran a hand through her hair and laughed aloud, "HAHA, He kicked my ass!"

Fayt and Cliff both laughed at her blunt answer while Adray gave her a funny look, "Don't be so proud of it."

"I lasted a while!" She pointed at Fayt, "You should give me lessons someday!"

Fayt scratched the back of his head, he'd never taught before, but the idea wasn't exactly off putting, "Sure, I guess so."

She remembered Adray's first comments, so she turned to the elder man, "Wait, how are you all getting to Airyglyph?"

Adray crossed his arms, "On foot of course."

Rouge glared him, "Are you an idiot, even the dragon brigade is having trouble traveling back and forth now, there's too much snow to cross on foot. Why are you always so reckless?!'

Cliff and Fayt laughed, Cliff commented, "Getting lectured by a kid Adray?"

Fayt stifled his laugh at the joke. Rouge glared at the Klausian when Adray answered, "She always lectures me, just like Clair!"

Rouge shifted her suspicious glare back to Adray, "Does Clair know that you're going to Airyglyph on foot?"

Adray swallowed down his meal then stood, he ignored her question as he boasted, "Well, time to go guys!"

Adray finished by leaving the inn, Rouge beckoned him but he ignored. She let out a deep sighed then shifted focus to Cliff and Fayt, "Clair is such a worry wart, she'll freak out."

Cliff nodded, "That's why we left when she wasn't home."

Rouge shook her head and spoke sarcastically, "Oh well, That old man is Built to Roam so it can't be helped, he's the most indestructible man I've met, and you guys are strong as well, I'm sure you'll be fine right?"

Fayt laughed, "Geez, don't be so confident…but we need to catch up to Adray, we should hurry out of here."

Rouge watched as Cliff smacked Roger on the shoulder, the Menodix had been lost in a girl trance again, so he'd missed the entirety of the interaction. Cliff beckoned the Mendoix, "Time to go."

Roger awoke to reality and stood from his seat. Rouge walked to stand next to Fayt, "That kid sick or something?"

Fayt laughed, "Kind of, pretty girls melt his brain."

She laughed, "Oh yeah?"

She walked around the table and bent at the waist to look Roger in the face, Cliff and Fayt watched eagerly as the boy's face turned deep crimson. Roger barely managed a question, "C-Can I help you miss?"

Rouge used her hands to grab both sides of his head, "Have a safe trip big guy!" Before he could speak she planted a fat kiss right on his lips for a whole five seconds! She pulled her lips away and let out a loud kiss sound, "Muah!"

She let his head go and stood, poor Roger fell slowly backwards all the way to the ground, she had indeed succeeded in melting his brain. All three laughed as he fell, Rouge mercilessly stepped over him and headed back to the group of people she'd been with when they first arrived. Just before she reached them, she turned to yell a goodbye, "Be careful guys, and keep Adray safe will ya?"

They both just waved a goodbye as they whispered to each other under their breath, Fayt being first, "Crazy Chick huh?"

Cliff laughed, "I think she killed Roger."

They both looked down at him and laughed, Cliff scooped him up and they left to find Adray. After stepping into the snow and walking a few feet, they found Adray, he'd taken a seat on the edge of a wooden fence while waiting for them. On sight of his group, the elder man stood and walked with them towards the west gate, first commenting on Roger, "What happened to the kid?"

Fayt answered, "That girl Rouge put him into a coma."

"Ah," was Adray's simple reply. Cliff continued the conversation, "What an eccentric woman, who is she Adray? She knows you and Clair, soldier I guess?"

Adray nodded as he rested a hand gently on his Katana's handle, "Not just a soldier, She's the leader of the Demon Legion."

Fayt hadn't heard of it, "Demon Legion?"

Adray answered, ""Yeah, it's one of the top branches of the Aquarian Army, I used to lead it, it's nothing but strong fighters. They hunt demons and monsters. Rouge recently became the leader."

Fayt nodded, "Her demeanor doesn't really give off the warrior vibe."

Adray laughed, "You're right there, the only time that girl ever gets serious is when she's fighting, she's actually one of the top five fighters in Aquious."

Fayt laughed, "Seems about right, Nel and Clair are both dainty and pretty, but lethal…Aquaria sure is an interesting place to be."

They were leaving through the gate when Cliff replied, "It's a damn Paradise."

…

A small restaurant in Aquious played refuge for three Runologist's. Clair and her two subordinates, Aster and Van, sat at one of the three small tables that the restaurant boasted. A small elderly woman with wrinkles marking her years emerged from the kitchen with three bowls of soup, she placed them on the table and sat down with the three, she spoke eagerly, "Enjoy it!"

Van spoke a big thank you, "Thanks mom, your soup is the best in the world!"

She smiled brightly as Aster took his first bite, the taller man sang her praises as well, "He's not just being biased because you're his mom either, it's seriously good, right Lady Clair?"

Clair nodded, "Yes sir, thanks Mrs. Ratsbane!"

The elder woman smiled, "You're all too nice, I just appreciate the business," just a moment passed before the elder woman continued with a topic change, "So, how are all the preparations for the winter fete coming along?"

Clair answered swiftly, "Very well actually, everything is ready a week early, Van here already finished the decorating and food orders, and Aster already prepared the security detail."

Van's mom nodded, "Great job boys, it's so strange that even a simple fete requires a security detail though."

Aster swallowed a large bite of his food, brushed his hair back and gave a reply, "Well, the queen will be there, as will King Arzei from Airyglyph, we have to keep it safe, the cool thing for us is that we get to bring dates and enjoy the party this year while our subordinates do all the work."

Mrs. Ratsbane laughed, "Benefits of labor, so Aster, are you going to bring Isabelle?"

Aster nodded, "Of Course!"

The elder lady looked to her son, even though he was well liked in the city, she knew he wasn't confident when it came to women, she was concerned when she asked, "How about you Van, did you ask anyone to go yet?"

Vaan's face turned red, he couldn't breathe, and he tried to answer but got all flustered. Aster noticed this and laughed a reply for his friend, "He sure did, it was the funniest thing I've ever seen, I thought he'd die."

Clair was interested as well, Vaan's bashfulness with women was well known, she was just as shocked to hear he'd asked someone out, "Whom did he ask?"

Vaan tried to answer, "T-T-T."

His face grew redder and he choked on his annunciations, Aster cut in for him, "He asked Tynave!"

Both Claire and Mrs. Ratsbane went wide eyed. Tynave was known as beautiful…but was a monster in battle, incredibly crass, and even though she was generally sweet, she was certainly a challenge for men to talk to. She'd chewed up and spit out any prior suitor, so why would Vaan pick her as a girl to ask when he could barely breathe around normal women in the first place? This pondered around Clair's head while Aster continued explaining, "It was hilarious, he pulled her aside before she left with Farleen and Nel to Greeton, all he managed to say was, "Fete you go with me?" Ha! He didn't even say it clearly! I still can't believe she said yes!"

Clair and Mrs. Ratsbane both yelled, "What!? She did?!"

Van nodded, "Yup, but only if she happens to get back early from the mission."

Both women sat with shocked faces, Aster noticed, then he felt the need to come to his friend's defense, "I don't know why you look shocked, people like Vaan, I knew all it would take for him to get a date was to ask someone."

Clair smiled, "Indeed, but what's really shocking is that Tynave said yes to him."

Vaan gave his boss a sour look, he managed a bit of cynicism, "Gee, thanks."

Clair shook her hands in a defensive manner, "I'm not talking you down, it's just that Tynave always rejects men."

Mrs. Ratsbane nodded in agreement when Aster cut in, "Tynave is one tough lady, she'd never go for one of those save the world types, Vaan here is genuine, he's had a crush on Tynave for a few years now, he's not that smooth talking womanizer that she seems to despise."

Vaan yelled at his friend, "Quit telling them all my secrets man!"

Aster laughed when Clair spoke again, "Still, it's quite surprising."

Even though it wasn't meant as a stab at Vaan, he still hung his head and took it that way. Aster felt the need to come to his friend's defense again, "Quit giving him grief Lady Clair, the only true miracle would be if YOU brought someone."

Clair's face turned slight crimson. She'd never pursued a romantic relationship and certainly never brought anyone along to a Royal party function. Aster had picked fun at her over it for years, but she'd never been affected, always giving a stoic, "No time when you work." Yet this time, she didn't answer with her general rehearsal. The trigger signs in Aster's brain went off as he did an internal checklist, speaking to himself in his head, "Oh Aster, one: She didn't answer quickly, Two: Did she blush?" He glanced at her, she'd blushed and shrank slightly, "Check! Three: Did the others notice?" He saw Vaan and Mrs. Ratsbane smiling with chagrin at his Boss, "Check!"

His internal monologue turned into a statement, he slapped the table then pointed at Clair, "No Way! Who is he Lady Clair!?"

Clair's face grew redder, before she answered Vaan butted in, "Do we know him!?"

Mrs. Ratsbane had remained quiet for a while, but she interjected, "Give her a break you two, don't be rude!"

The elder woman placed a caring hand on Clair's left shoulder, "Take a breath honey."

Clair did as she was bade, it helped her regain composure, and so Mrs. Ratsbane asked, "Feel better now?"

Clair nodded, "Yes mam, thank you."

"Good," Mrs. Ratsbane gave the easy answer before a dark and menacing grin was exposed on the elder woman's face, her eyes seemed a demon's to Clair when Mrs. Ratsbane continued in a sinister voice, "now that you feel better…who's the guy!?"

Clair tried to spot an escape when she saw that her two subordinates held the same evil grin. She sighed before giving up, deciding to just answer was likely the best option. She could ask for their silence in exchange for a name. It would certainly stop rumors from flying, "Well, I haven't asked him yet…"

Aster leaned towards her, "Yes, but who's the guy?!"

Clair sat up proudly, the only betrayal to her outward composure was the slight flush in her voice, "Well…"

…

Cliff let out a loud sneeze, then he shook his head. The cold must have finally gotten to him a bit. No surprise there. Cliff and Fayt had learned quickly on the climb that the stories of these mountains hadn't been exaggerated. The snowfall had already amounted several feet while flurries continued to descend from the sky. The snowshoes Adray had packed had been their only salvation. As they climbed up with red numb faces, Adray walked in front, knowing the way and breaking the snow where his jobs. Fayt followed him, Roger was right at Fayt's back, the heavy wind forced the Menodix to need assistance. Cliff brought up the rear, supporting the group when anyone began to slip. Though the trek was rough, they actually moved at a much faster pace than most would have, no doubt evidence of the groups heightened endurance. Just before night had fallen, Adray led the group to a place to camp for the night. He'd located a large cliff that served as a wind block, though the ground was flat, it was covered in snow. Fayt pondered where to place the tent when Adray told the group to stand back. They all watched as the elder man drove his hand through the snow and placed it on the ground. Fayt was standing over him and heard Adray mutter under his breath, "Earth Glaive."

On those words, Fayt expected to see several large jagged rocks emerge from the ground. Instead, no rocks came, the ground in front of Adray began to raise slowly. A large fifteen by fifteen foot section of earth rose evenly, snow fell away from it until it stood three feet above the regular ground. Cliff stepped forward, "Nice Platform!" The Klausian turned to Roger, "Come on kid, let's brush the rest of the snow off of it so we can get that tent up before the sun's gone."

The Klausian and the Menodix both leapt up and did just that. Before Fayt began to help, he had to ask Adray about the Symbology he'd used, he'd never seen it before, "Adray, wasn't that an Earth Glaive? How did you make it move so slowly and precise?"

Adray patted Fayt on the back, "It just take's precise control, it's the same incantation, in battle you just rip random rocks from the ground, but if you channel you're Runology precisely, you can shape just about anything, we can work on it when we work on your control for that new sword…now, give me that pack off your back."

Fayt had been carrying the largest back pack of the group, he nodded and answered, "I definitely want to learn how to use it, and here," He removed the pack and handed it to Adray."

Adray immediately opened the large bag and Fayt was surprised to see a massive wall tent emerge from it, the earthling was expecting something much smaller. So for the next few minutes they all worked together to put up their temporary shelter. The frame went up onto the platform Adray had readied, then was braced by large stakes hammered into the ground at the corners, then several ropes were tied to the tent and attached at 45 degree angles to more stakes driven in the ground. The walls were dark brown, and thick, allowing insulation. Once finished, they all settled inside the tent, Roger exclaimed happiness, "No more wind or snow!"

They all gave a unanimous shiver then a laugh. Adray asked the room, "Who's hungry?"

A unanimous stomach growl was heard, so Adray laughed, "Then let me get cooking, Roger, may I have that pack off of your back?"

"Sure," the Menodix nodded and handed it over. Adray continued, "Master Cliff, you're bag has the cot's in it, will you set them up while we cook?"

Cliff nodded silently, then got right to work. Adray pulled his own backpack off and pulled out a peculiar item. It was a wide rectangular glass box, several runological signs were affixed to its outside, and in the box at its core was a small rock. Next he pulled a stand out then sat it on the ground, he placed the glass box on top of it. Roger and Fayt were unsure as to what it was, the Menodix inquisitioned first, "What is this thing Adray?"

Adray answered simply as he aligned the box perfectly, "It's a heater I created, but It also works as a stove, You just put your hand here on a rune," he placed a palm on one of the rune's that lined the box, "Then you channel a fire spell into it." His hand glowed with a white ring around it, then a small amount of fire alit the rune, suddenly every rune on the box glowed until the rock on the inside joined the runes in shining. Adray moved his hands away, "There, the runes hold the mana and keep it going for hours."

Fayt knelt down and eyed it, "This is amazing!"

Even Cliff, who now sat on a cot he'd set up, answered, "It really is."

Adray laughed, "It's nothing compared to the technology you two grew up with."

Fayt could already feel the heat warming the room as he sang Adray's praises, "No Adray, I've never seen anything like this. Every portable heater I've seen runs of some fuel or electricity, both run out quickly, not to mention the oil stoves and heaters can't be used in a tent because they give off toxic carbon dioxide. This is truly genius."

Adray smiled broadly, "Glad you like it! Now check this out," The elder man pulled a cup and round globe that had a wire attached to it and handed them both to Fayt. Much like the stove, the globe was adorned with runes on the outside with some sort of rock in the center, "Go outside and hit it's runes with the smallest fire bolt you can create, and put a scoop of snow in that cup."

Fayt nodded then headed out into the snow. He placed the globe on the snow a few feet from the tent then readied a small Fire Bolt, it was the size of a baseball as it struck forward and hit the globe. The snow had melted around it as It's runes began to glow, then the interior rock started to shine much brighter than the stoves had, so bright in fact that Fayt realized what it was, "It's a lamp!"

He grabbed it by its wire hanger, scooped some snow it the cup, then returned to the tent to smell food, his stomach turned as he hung the lamp, it lighted the entire tent, "These are awesome, you'll have to teach me how to make them."

Adray's voice beckoned, "Sure! But come help me cook would you?'

Fayt replied, "Sure," he turned to see both Roger and Cliff sitting next to Adray salivating for food, begging like dogs. He laughed as he approached, "What can I do?"

Adray took the cup of snow and directed him to cut up an onion and some carrots with a knife he'd already pulled from a bag, so he did. As he cut the vegetables, he watched in awe as Adray had two skillets sat upon the Rulology Stove, it cooked with the same heat and evenness as any stove he'd seen. His worship of the technology was interrupted by the smell of the food. Adray had thrown a pack of the ground meat that Joseph had given them in one of the pans and had it browning with spices, garlic and salt were the only two could discern the scent of…and they were two of his favorites. The elder man took the vegetables from Fayt and placed them in the other pan, then dumped the snow on top of them, allowing the snow to turn to water in order to steam the veggies. He covered them and continued to stir the ground meat. Soon the group sat scattered on the cot's that Cliff had set out, each garnering a plate of food and a grin. They chatted about randomness until long after the sun had fallen, Topic's from how they cook on earth and Klaus, to the training that they were all going through. The unanimous decision to turn in for the night was reached soon after. Adray and Roger were fast asleep, the elder man laughing through a dream and The Menodix's butt propped up in the air in what had to be a painful sleep position. Fayt had yet to fall asleep when the urge to pee called, he synched up his coat and headed out into the chilled air and did his business. He watched the light snowfall until he was done. He turned to head back into the tent when Cliff stepped out and met Fayt out front of the tent, the Klausian rubbing his arms and speaking with a light hearted tone, "Sure is cold out here."

Fayt nodded as he stood next to his friend, "Yeah, but you know, I miss this stuff."

"The Adventure?" Cliff asked as he stood up straight and popped his back with a slight backwards lean.

Fayt laughed, "Yeah, it's so thrilling, something about travelling and seeing all the universe has to offer is just amazing. We meet wonderful people and get to help people. The training, the wonder of it, like you said, the adventure. I'm glad I got to meet you Cliff," Fayt smiled at the Klausian and scratched his head at the thought of the bonkers things they'd done since they'd met, "Thanks for doing all this crazy shit with me man."

Cliff punched Fayt's shoulder, "Geez, sentimental much."

Fayt smiled, "Maybe, I'm just in a good mood I guess."

Cliff nodded, "No worries, I feel the same way kid. We're family now, Ha, Life definitely got more interesting after we met, seems wherever we go, you're a hot lady magnet."

Fayt rolled his eyes, "Yeah right."

Cliff took a deep breath and let it go, he watched the steam from his lungs lift into the air and fade into the darkness before he continued, "You know, I created Quark because I wanted to be able to travel and do whatever whenever. Then it got all mixed up in political affairs and I didn't enjoy it anymore. I never minded helping people in need…but the whole point was freedom of adventure. That's why I didn't mind handing the reigns over to Maria, I was glad. Being carefree is just in my nature…"

Fayt brushed some light dusting of snow off of his shoulder, "Guess what that girl Rouge said about Adray is true for us too."

Cliff cocked his head, "What's that?"

Fayt laughed, "Some of us are just built to roam."

* * *

 **Have a wonderful evening folks and a Merry Christmas.**


	7. An Almighty Thud

**I am enjoying this immensely.**

 **This Chapter was named after a song called "An Almighty Thud" by We Were Promised Jetpacks, it's a beautiful track, give it a listen.**

 **(Disclaimer) I don't own Star Ocean, if I did, this book would be getting serialized and turned into a second game/novel.**

* * *

Chapter 7

An Almighty Thud

Morning found the mountain that played host to its four foreign visitors to be much brighter than the prior day. The snow storm that had raged the night through was scarcely noticeable, the only evidence of its existence being the white crust that it had left in its wake. When Fayt awoke and headed outside to take his first morning pee, the snowfall seemed an empty white canvas. After straining his name in yellow on the canvas he proceeded to wake his companions up. After they ate breakfast, packing up the large tent and equipment went smoothly enough and soon they had begun their decent down the opposite side of the mountain from where they entered. Adray was thoroughly shocked at the speed in which they had made it across as he spoke proudly, it was only midday and they were only an hour out of Airyglyph, "It's not far now, I say another hour at most!"

Cliff now carried two bags and Roger on his shoulders through the snow to keep them all from sinking replied with curiosity, "I thought you said that this trip would take three days?"

Fayt nodded in agreement, "Was the snow lighter than usual?

Adray laughed, a plume of visible exhale escaped his lips as he answered, "Nope, it's just as bad as normal, we just don't have any normal people traveling with us so we're blazing through."

Fayt had never thought of himself as anything other than normal, but when he gave it thought, he realized just how different this group was, every one of them was on a much higher level than your typical humanoid. He smiled as he answered, "Well, I guess you're right, conquering this snow is child's play."

Roger crossed his arms proudly in his perched placement atop Cliff's shoulders, "This is nothing for guys like us!'

Cliff glared up at him, "Says the midget who is just riding for free."

Roger patted and rustled the Klausian's hair, "Oh calm down there, I'll be sure to get you a treat later since you make such a good horse."

"A horse huh," Cliff's eye twitched in annoyance, then he bucked his shoulders like a horse would, sending the Menodix flying and crashing head first into the snow. Adray and Fayt laughed as Cliff headed on down the mountainside. Fayt plucked Roger from the ground like a fresh carrot, "You shouldn't mock the guy giving you a ride."

Fayt lifted the Menodix piggy back style, Roger chimed, "That Big lummox can't take a joke."

With that they continued on down the mountain. Fighting the cold and snow with every crunching step.

…

A crisp cold morning found Clair heading into the small chapel in Arias. The chapel was hazy with the scent of a burning fire, slow melting candle wax, and many sweaty people. The prior night she'd slept in Castle Aquaria, heading out at dawn with her two subordinates Vaan and Aster. They were to deliver various foods and small toiletry supplies from the castle to the refugee families staying in the Arias chapel. They had divvied out meals to at least fifteen families when they kicked back for a moment to talk. Aster was the first to speak, his eyes showing that the question was for Clair, "Since when does it snow this damn much in Arias?"

Clair gave a slight laugh, "It always snows out here this time of year, you just spend all of your time in Aquaria so you don't see this place as much."

Vaan nodded, "I don't see any problem with snow… other than it making travel difficult."

Aster rolled his eyes at his friend, "Analytical Brain."

They had moved away from the groups of people to a more secluded spot in the back of the chapel. Clair leaned her back against a jagged wood table and lifted an apple from it, she was about to take a bite when a small elderly woman approached from one of the groups of refugee families. Clair noticed her approach and spoke gently to the woman, "Can we help you with something ma'am?"

Both Aster and Vaan shifted their focus to the elderly woman as she answered, "I was just curious if you had decided which family gets to move into that first house? I think you should choose Ms. Belphry and her two sons," the old woman's tone became annoyed, "those kids are getting too hyper to stay here."

Clair didn't quite understand what the woman was saying, no houses were completed yet, so she asked the woman, "What house are you talking about mam?"

The elderly woman pointed towards the west side of the building, "that new one on the west side of town, it's almost finished right?"

In the last three days, Clair's work had taken her out of Arias via the east side of town, not once had she walked the whole town, her curiously a lit, she led her two subordinates outside to the wagon they used and the three of them rode to the west side of town. Soon they came upon the site where many homes had been wiped out in the war. Much to her surprise the elderly woman from the chapel's words had been accurate. A house stood where a memory used to, the only thing seemingly missing being the windows. She immediately leapt from her place on the wagon and ran into the building being followed by Aster and Vaan. The stepped into the shell and immediately Aster asked, "So, this is what the new houses look like, what an interesting design."

Vaan took his turn to speak, "interestingly simple architecture, makes a few materials go a long way…I'd like to meet the architect."

Vaan spoke that last statement towards Clair, an obvious attempt to garner the name from her, yet she drew a blank. As she racked her brain the memory of Cliff offering to help build some houses with Fayt at his side splashed into her mind as she mumbled aloud to herself with whimsical surprise, "They didn't…"

Vaan heard the mumble, "Who didn't?"

Clair spoke to them, "I had no idea that this house went up, I have a hunch who built it…let's go find out if I'm right."

Thirty minutes later Clair's small group was walking into the main headquarters of Arias. After going home and finding no one there, headquarters was her next obvious stop for information. They walked the long carpeted hallway into the main conference room. They discovered the room was dark, the only section consumed with light showed a table with two men sitting at it and shuffling through some paperwork with a woman peering at the two with the sharp eyes of a hawk. Upon their entrance, the group that sat at the table stood with utmost haste and the two men spoke in emphatic unison, "Welcome back milady Clair!"

Clair spoke a thanks as she approached, recognizing the female Runololgist that stood with her two subordinates, she spoke directly to her, "All done in Kirlsa Rouge?"

The dark haired woman stepped around the table to speak with Clair at point blank range, "Yes mam, Just getting Dante and Leon here to help me finish up my reports," Rouge looked past Clair and offered a poignant hello to the other two, "Vaan and Aster, good to see you two as well, Surprised to see your candy asses on a mission."

Aster Scoffed, "Surprised to see you sober…"

Vaan interjected before the scoff could ease its way eloquently into a dispute, "So, Lady Clair, who will know who built that house?"

Before Clair could answer, Leon looked up from his sitting position, "That new house, we know who built it."

All eyes in the room shifted to Leon and Dante, Dante continued for his compadre, "Yeah, we even helped a little."

Clair sat at the long table and asked eagerly, "Was it my father and others?"

Both men nodded vigorously, "Yes mam!" Dante did the talking, "Sir Adray was working with a few others, but it seemed as though those guys Cliff and Fayt did the bulk of the work."

Leon cut in, "Yeah, all we did was help steady some walls since we needed to get back on duty…but I tell you, it was amazing, they put that whole thing up in half a day!"

Clair smiled inwardly, the thought of them doing that certainly warmed her heart, and she owed the group a debt of gratitude. As the others in the room chatted about how the house and the impressive speed in which it was built, Clair was lost in thought. She couldn't quite wrap her head around how Kind Cliff and Fayt were, and how Cliff not only kept his word, but didn't even boast about it, a blush crossed her cheeks as she thought of the Klausian when Aster noticed it and called her on it, "So that lover boy is a useful guy huh?"

Vaan snickered, Leon and Dante turned their heads slightly, not knowing what he had meant. Rouge watched as Clair became slightly flustered, she'd never seen this side of her friend before. She announced boldly, "CLAIR!?"

The Lasbard beauty jolted then looked at Rouge, "Yes mam?"

Rouge grabbed Clair by her shirt sleeve and dragged her out of the room and off into the hallway. Once there, Rouge placed her hands cockily on her hips, "So, who was Aster talking about, that Cliff fellow?"

Clair nodded, "Well yes, I was just going to invite him to the fete…now Aster is enjoying teasing me about it."

Rouge laughed and spoke with a direct bite that hid no thought from her highly functioning brain, "Well it's no wonder, there's no way YOU would want to invite him unless you liked the guy romantically. Makes it easy to pick on you since you have never liked a guy before Cliff."

Clair flustered again, the direct comment felt an accusation of love, the likes of which warranted a knee jerk reaction, she raised her voice with a bit of bite that was quite uncommon for the soft spoken woman, "What, I never said I had romantic feelings for him Rouge."

Rouge knew the harsh reaction from Clair meant it was true, just like a small child not wanting to admit a crush, so she ground the teasing home, "Oh! So defensive are we?! You really do like him, maybe you'll make your father happy and tie that damn knot."

Rouge certainly had a knack for pushing the funniest of buttons, Clair balled her fists and gave a tiny glare to her friend as she laughed in her face. Rouge smiled at the wannabe glare, Clair just couldn't seem to be an angry figure in Rouge's mind, Rouge let it alone and spoke, "Well, bad news if you we're hoping to see him, he and your father left for Airyglyph yesterday night."

Clair's tone dropped the irritated air as she shifted back to her normal soft demeanor, "What, they did?"

Rouge nodded, "Yeah, That guy Fayt and that Menodix kid went too." The thought of what she did to Roger crossed her mind and she giggled to herself before continuing, "They went up the mountain yesterday evening."

Worrisome surprise fueled Clair's next comment, "They went on foot!?"

Rouge nodded, "Yeah, I warned them, but you know your dad, he just blew me off and they all went anyways…nasty storm up there now too."

"Oh no!" Clair exclaimed as she stormed off in concern towards the conference room, "We need to go make sure that they are ok right now!"

Rouge shook her head, "Yeesh."

…

"This place hasn't changed a bit," Fayt spoke aloud as he and his companions all stood marveling at the always impressive interior of Airyglyph castle. Tall brick walls were adorned with beautiful gold tapestries, medieval weapons hung around the spots the paintings didn't consume. The first floor foyer they stood in had two fireplaces roaring with emblazoned heat. The place did indeed look the same as two years prior. They only difference was quickly noted by Cliff, "Lot of people packed in here."

The entire castle was certainly swarmed by people, all chatting and doing all sorts of random business, Adray commented, "Yeah, when the snow is this bad, most of the towns business is done here, keeping everyone in one place avoids the hassle of traversing the snow."

Roger took his turn to talk as he stood next to the elder man, "Does that mean the glass maker we're here to see is in here somewhere."

Adray nodded, "Yes sir," Adray glanced over the proverbial flea market, "Trouble is finding him."

Adray led the other three into the crowd, the group spotted a weapons dealer, they had just stopped to shop a bit when a booming voice carried over the crowd, it shouted, "Adray!?"

All four looked around for the source when they noticed something peculiar, a hush had fell over the crowd, nary a peep was ushered and all of their eyes were focused upwards to the second floor of the castle. Simultaneously the whole group followed the crowd's eyes upwards, they spotted King Arzei, no doubt the reason for the silence. The King was leaning over the second floor railing with two armor clad attendants on both sides of him. The king hollered again, "That is you Adray isn't it?"

Adray shouted back, "Indeed it is I!"

The King glanced over Adray's companions, he boasted happily, "Fayt and Cliff! You must all come up at once!"

The large crowd parted as they all mumbled under their breaths, allowing a lane for Fayt's group to walk to the guarded stairwell that allowed access to the second floor. Eyes followed their advance, the fame they held always made Fayt and Cliff a bit uncomfortable, after all, neither of them were the, "LOOK AT ME" types of guys. That said, they had become a bit more accustomed to bearing it as Fayt gave a slight wave to a group of kids that obviously knew the notoriety that followed the two of them on Ellicoor. As they emerged onto the second floor, it was a stark contrast to the area below them, this second floor was devoid of people and the noise from the lower floor nearly cut off. Fayt glanced around and noticed several changes from the time he'd passed through the castle. Much of the technology that was seen in Aquaria had littered the castle. It took the rustic medieval feel away from the building, Fayt gave himself a laugh as he internally compared it to an Earth Renaissance festival, archaic designs covered by technology. The thought was dissolved when he spotted the King. Fayt, Cliff, and Roger watched as Adray walked up to Arzei, Arzei signaling his guards to stay their hands as he extended his right hand out towards the old Symbologist. They locked arms at the elbows in the warrior style tradition and both let out a laugh as Arzei pulled Adray into an embrace the released him, the king speaking proudly, "It's been far too long Sir Adray!"

Adray boasted, "Indeed it has! Several years!"

Cliff stepped up, "You two know each other personally?"

The King nodded, "Yes we do, my father was the one who taught Sir Adray the ways of the sword."

Roger watched as Fayt questioned with inquisitive surprise, "So does that mean that Airyglyph and Aquaria were allies in the past?"

Adray spoke directly to the Earthling, "Not necessarily allies, more like we had mutual respect, there were also some blood ties between the two countries fostered by Noble families, my Father became friends with Arzei's through one of those connections. I spent several years of my childhood living here in Airyglyph. I learned the sword in my youth, then Symbology after moving back to Aquaria."

King Arzei laughed to himself as Fayt mumbled under his breath about Adray's weird tolerance for the cold being explained, his internal jab was blocked by the King's next words, "I was just a tyke then, I used to watch them train every day, then Adray would spend the rest of his time playing with me! "At the end of this sentence, Roger felt a question bubble up, he'd remained silent until he approached the King and extended his hand, he'd never met the King of Airyglyph before now, "Nice to meet you, my name's Roger S. Huxley, I'm from Surferio."

The King extended a hand to grasp the Menodix's and gave him a warm smile, "Nice to meet you Roger, My name is Arzei."

Roger was shocked by the happy demeanor of the man that stood before him, wasn't this the man that started a war that killed many people? Shouldn't he be scary? The thoughts fueled the kid's next questions, Roger spoke puzzled to the King, "So you're friends with Adray?"

The King nodded, so Roger continued with his youthful curiosity filled bluntness, "You seem too nice to be a warmonger."

All were shocked by the disrespectful statement, Cliff smacked the back of Roger's head, "Show some respect Kid!"

Roger went to snap back at him, but was interrupted by Arzei speaking to Cliff, "It's okay, he has every right to ask," They all watched as the King began to converse with the boy, looking directly into Roger's eyes as he spoke, showing the kid the same respect he would bare to any man, "In my heart, I never wanted the war, I allowed other people to take power away from me, then did nothing to stop it."

Roger placed a hand on his chin, "Well why didn't you stop it"

All eyes focused on Arzei, he was smooth as he replied, obviously he'd gotten past his mistakes, "Well, it was more that I couldn't, I was stifled politically and emotionally, Vox was a dear friend of mine, so as he swayed the heart of my people towards war, he even swept mine up. By the time I realized the folly, he'd already corrupted many people with political positions, along with many soldiers that followed him. He never said it directly, but it was implied that I would be removed from power if I'd tried to stop him. My people that didn't believe in his cause would have been helpless with me gone, so I had to stay my hand."

It was obvious by this point that The King was telling all of this to the entire group, not just the boy, they all listened intently when Roger replied, "You should have done something sooner anyways."

Arzei shook his head, "It's not that simple."

Roger pointed at the man, "It IS that simple, you're the King, so you're the one in charge. My dad always said that the leader has to be willing to put his own life on the line to protect those who rely on him."

Roger crossed his arms and gave a huff before the King nodded with a grin, "Sounds like your father was a wise man, you're right, what I needed to do was win back the hearts of my people, but that's difficult when your own heart is crushed."

Fayt couldn't help but admire this man, he may have gone through hell, but his attitude to move on was impressive. He was even more impressed by Roger's reply to the King, "The past is the past, Just work harder to strengthen your own heart, and as long as you're strong, those following you will have no doubts."

Cliff walked over and snagged the Menodix up and placed him on his shoulder, much to the protest of the boy, "Put me down you big lummox!"

The Klausian laughed as he walked off with Roger, speaking as they headed back down the stairwell, "Nope, that's enough lecturing the King for the day kid."

As their bickering faded out of earshot, Arzei laughed, "What an impressive kid, far too smart for his age."

Fayt laughed, "He's certainly a handful, but you think that's impressive, you should see that kid in a fight, he blows the best warriors away."

The king spoke with curious respect, "Really?"

Adray nodded, "He's an impressive squirt."

The three of them stood silently for a few moments when a lightbulb triggered in the King's mind, "Hey, so what brought you here today?"

Fayt quickly remembered the reason for the visit, "Well, Cliff and I will only be here for a few more days, we decided to help with the reconstruction in Arias."

The King looked with admiration, "That's not really the responsibility of you two, you're both quite chivalrous."

Fayt waved his hand non chalantly, "It's not a big deal, we both have free time, honestly, and working on the houses is a nice change to what I was doing in school."

Adray cut in, "You should see these two work Arzei, they put a whole house up in half a day, all but the windows, that's why we came, we need to get some glass window's made."

The kind nodded, "You traipsed over those mountains just for glass? Crazy as always."

Adray laughed, "It's all good training."

Arzei nodded, "Well, how many window's do you need made?"

Fayt thought a moment, his brain processing the likely amount of housing, his calculations concluded, "Twenty windows, each two by two feet."

The King hailed one of his attendants, she approached and asked the King, she blew some blond hair out of her eyes and asked, "Yes sir?"

Arzei turned to the young woman, "Contact Marco, have him prepare twenty 2 by 2 foot windows, then arrange for a dragon brigade transport to carry them to Kirlsa, along with 5 passengers," the king turned towards Fayt, "Want to leave tonight, or the morning?"

Fayt grinned, "Tonight, thanks!"

The King gave his final order, "See to it please."

The attendant nodded, "Consider it done."

As the attendant disappeared downstairs, Adray asked the King a question, "How much will the window's cost?"

Arzei waved his Kingly hand, "Nothing to you Adray, Marco works for the castle, and my soldiers were responsible for the damaged homes, the least I can do is provide some materials for repair."

Fayt and Adray both smiled broadly, Adray boasted, "You're a good man Arzei!"

The King grinned, then he let loose a request of his own, "There is one thing you can do for me Adray,"

The King led the two from the throne room and into his private quarters. It was the same as Fayt had remembered, seemingly the only room unoccupied by the new technology that littered the castle. All that it held was a messy desk and several shelves smothered in books loosely lain upon its shelves. The two watched as The King pulled a small globe from a drawer in his desk. Fayt immediately recognized it as one of the little Globes that Adray had employed in the tent the night prior. Arzei began to speak, "The man that delivered this to me a year ago for the wedding lit it, but there are no Symbologists in Airyglyph, could you re light it for me?"

Adray grinned as he took the little globe from the King, he made a seemingly harsh joke, "Guess the light died out almost as fast as your wedding did!"

Arzei wasn't offended, actually laughing as the thought of the King getting engaged to one of the Aquarian temple maidens popped into Fayt's head, last he heard the King was slated to marry her, the earthling questioned, "You didn't marry?"

The king shook his head, "No I did not, I called it off at the last second."

Adray rolled his eyes, "I knew he would, Arzei is far too much of a romantic to settle for a political marriage."

At the endo of this sentence, the same blond attendant from before entered the room, upon entrance she bowed to the King, stood, then spoke, "Marco said he will have the materials prepared within the hour, and Sir Grover will have two dragon's prepared, one to haul the glass and another equipped to Carry five passengers."

The King nodded, "Thank you Fran, you can go back to your normal duties now."

The blond left, as she did so, Fayt counted with his fingers the number of people in his group before he spoke aloud, "There are only four of us, why did you ask for five passengers?"

The King smiled, "Well, I assume that when Albel learns of your visit, he will request to accompany you, he has seemed a bit stir crazy as of late."

Fayt's surprise visibly lifted his eyebrows, "Oh! Albel is here! Where can I find him?"

Arzei pointed upwards, "Check the roof."

…

After locating Roger and Cliff, Fayt and Adray quickly updated them on the plans to leave soon. Now the group of four were emerging onto the snowbound roof of Airyglyph castle. The snow that had lightened upon their arrival had seemed to intensify. Being a training ground, every piece of training equipment that littered the roof held at least a foot of snow, the walkways had a small dusting where new snow had covered the shoveling work of some poor soul. The group looked out over the wide rooftop, and no sign of life seemed to grace it. Fayt placed a hand on his chin, "Arzei said Albel would be up here, but I don't see anyone."

Roger cut in, "Maybe he left?"

Cliff pointed towards the center of the roof, "He's right there."

What seemed a mound a snow was inspected by the eyes of the other three men, and upon that inspection, it became apparent a man sat facing away from them cross legged and covered in snow. He must have sat for hours, several inches of snow cased his body making it difficult to discern man from snow. The long spiky hair and katana were slightly moving up and down, likely thanks to his slow rhythmic breathing. They also were evidence enough for Fayt to believe it was indeed Albel Nox, the earthling shouted, "Hey Albel! What's up?"

The meditating man didn't budge, but a putrid phrase uttered through his lips, "How many times do I have to tell you people not to interrupt me during my training!?"

Fayt scoffed and rolled his eyes, only to be followed by Cliff jeering at the angry Ellicoorian, "Huh, thought you'd want to train with us, guess not."

Albel still didn't move, he sat under the assumption that the beckoning voices were that of his underlings, "Why would I want to train with you, none of you are strong enough to keep up for very long, you'll be crying in minutes."

Roger glared at the sitting statue, "Only girls cry ya big idiot!"

Adray laughed at the comment, his boisterous voice was still not enough to rouse Albel. Fayt sighed, "Oh well, looks like two years wasn't enough to calm you down any."

The lightbulb went off in Albel's head, the words two years and the voice that spoke it finally triggered his brain as he turned his head without standing to eyeball the group. His eyes widened at the sight of them, all four grinning at him with Fayt waving a hello, Cliff gave a simple, "YO."

Before another second could pass, Albel exploded from his place on the ground, and as he stood the snow that flew off of him burst in the air like a cloud around him. He shot like a bullet towards the group, drawing his sword and raising it above his head. When the group realized Fayt was the target, the other three leapt clear. Fayt however read the intention and drew his own sword, simply seconds had past when Fayt rose his sword horizontally to block the blow. With a loud twang the swords collided, the blades struggled against each other when Fayt mocked, "Nice to see you too Albel!"

Albel didn't say a word, he answered by putting enough force behind his Katana to send Fayt reeling backwards and landing on his butt. The earthling went to stand when Albel's sword pointed at his face, the Ellicoorian spoke, "You're dead."

Fayt glared at him, "Take it easy!"

Albel sheathed his sword as the rest of the group approached the two, Fayt stood when Albel spoke, "You've become weak!"

Roger, Cliff, and Adray all laughed at the comment, Cliff mocked, "like a baby!"

Fayt brushed snow away from his jacket, "Yeah, Yeah, I'm definitely rusty, I haven't got to practice in two years…that's the whole point of this training trip."

Somehow in his movement, Albel had cleared every bit of snow away from his body, it revealed that he wore the exact same outfit he used to, skin tight purple top, black knee high leggings, and a purple warriors dress over the top. He shifted the dress to adjust his Katana to his hip when he spoke, "So when do we leave?"

* * *

 **As always, Send me those song suggestions.**


	8. Electric Love

**Enjoy. This Chapter is a bit shorter than my norm, but it's been too damn long and I was excited to get something out, I may have rushed a tad.**

 **This Chapter was named after a song Called Electric Love by Borns.**

 **I don't own Star Ocean. (Disclaimer)**

* * *

Chapter 8

The ride from Airyglyph to Kirlsa was certainly faster via a dragon, however it was far less possible to speak between the travelers, flying in a snow storm certainly causes that. As a result, Fayt, Adray, Cliff, Roger, and their newest addition Albel hunkered in on the back of their dragon escort until they were above Kirlsa. Cliff hollered to the driver called Grover through the wind, "So where in Kirlsa will we be landing?!"

The elder man didn't break his attention from the flight, it was quite impressive, he must have been suffering from the weather exposure, snow murdering his frostbitten face, but he never broke focus as he answered, "Count Woltar's mansion has a nice lading area."

Cliff cried, "Works for me!"

Fayt and Roger's interest had been peaked by this point, riding a dragon was cool. They both moved to where they could watch the ground and the surroundings. Roger was elated, as it was his first time riding a dragon. For Fayt, even though he'd rode before, it was for a cause outside of war, so this time he really enjoyed himself, taking the time to observe the snowbound world around him. Roger spoke to him in elation, "This is so cool Fayt!"

Fayt's cold puffy face lit up as he replied, "I know, riding a dragon is far cooler than in a ship, it almost feels like I'm actually flying!"

Next to them sat Albel, who muttered to himself about their carefree elation, "Idiots."

Though the two boys didn't hear the jab, Cliff did, and the big Klausian laughed at Albel, "Oh don't rain on their parade, you still don't know how to just enjoy things, do you?"

Albel scoffed and looked away, "Whatever."

Fayt and Roger both noticed as Kirlsa came into view over the horizon, being marked by their pilot hollering, "We've arrived, brace for landing!"

The massive air Dragon landed smoothly and gave a loud shriek, it seemed overjoyed to see the ground instead of the snowy sky that chaffed its wings. All the men who were present leapt down, with the pilot being last, he lead the dragon to what Fayt discerned to be an indoor corral for dragons. The man returned to the group, and it took everything they had not to laugh at the old pilot. When they'd first met him, he had a foot-long beard on his face, and now the beard was one giant icicle. Roger pointed at the man, "Hey Grover, that beard looks like a big chunk of ice!"

The elder man seemed unphased, "Occupational Hazard."

All their attention was drawn to the sky above them as the dragon carrying the cargo load of glass landed next to them. Grover immediately started to unbind the load as he called to Albel, "I'm sorry Sir Albel, but would you and your friends mind going to fetch two carts to haul this load with? Unfortunately, we were unable to send ahead to make arrangements on account of the storm."

Albel placed a hand upon his Katana as he walked in the direction of Woltar's mansion, he'd walked a few paces when he noticed no one else followed. He turned towards his group and slightly snapped, "You coming!?"

Adray answered, "You guys go, I'll stay here and help unload." So, the rest all jumped to follow Albel, quickly heading through Woltar's courtyard and on into Kirlsa. As they walked, Roger commented while looking at the snow at his feet, "One foot of snow sure is nicer than Five feet!"

Fayt nodded, "Yeah, nice to be off that mountain."

At this point, they'd only gone a few yards into town when Albel stopped and opened a gate. When they entered through the gate they all watched as Albel walked up alone to a small wooden house and knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door swung open and an old man without many discerning characteristics save a massive scar across his face stepped out and spoke with a broad smile, "Hello Albel, what brings you here?"

Albel spoke with a bit more respect than usual, his voice didn't have the bite it typically did, "May I borrow the wagon?"

The old man nodded, "Sure, just grab the horses and go for it, just try not to keep them out in the cold for too long. Want to come in for food?"

Albel shook his head no, "No sir, we must hurry."

On the word we, the elder man looked out and saw the others standing at his gate, "Those friends of yours Albel?"

Albel simply nodded, "Indeed...I must get going."

The old man smiled at him, "Bring them all round sometime."

Albel just silently nodded and waved towards the group to follow him around the house. Soon they had a large wagon rigged up to two horses and were riding it back to where the dragons had landed, On the way Fayt asked Albel, "So who was the old man?"

A flake of snow landed on Albel's eyebrow, so he wiped it away as he answered, "His name is Adrian, when I was younger, my father died...Adrian took me in until I became a soldier."

Fayt nodded, "That's cool."

It only took a few minutes for them to arrive and to load up all the glass panels. They all shook hands with the two dragon pilots and boarded the wagon. With Albel at the reigns, they slowly crept their way out towards the east side of Kirlsa, but just before they got out of town, Fayt called for Albel to stop and climbed out of the wagon, "I'll be right back guys."

Fayt's nose had picked up the scent of fresh cooked bread, so he followed his nostrils into a small bakery where he purchased baked bread for all his companions. He hustled back to the wagon and climbed up shotgun next to Albel, then commenced handing the driver a chunk of warm bread, then tossing a piece to Cliff, Adray, and Roger who all rode in the back of the wagon next to the glass. So, they continued this way, enjoying the warm bread's feel in their bellies on the cold day. Adray, Cliff, and Roger all chattered about random things as the wagon moved. Fayt and Albel both sat silent. They made it out of Kirlsa and had gotten about halfway to Arias when Albel noticed the hazy stare Fayt held, sort of just staring out into the falling snow. Albel commented, "What's the matter with you?"

Fayt shook his head as he snapped out of the trance, "Oh nothing really, just being in Kirlsa made me remember my father."

Albel was aware of Fayt's father's death in the Kirlsa training facility, he just nodded his head and responded to the earthling, "Your father was an impressive man."

Fayt didn't look at Albel, but he still smiled broadly, "Thanks."

A few moments passed in silence when Fayt laughed and spoke, "I think that's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say."

Albel snarled, "Screw you!"

Out of anger, Albel snapped on the reigns, encouraging the horses to speed up.

Fayt laughed aloud as the wagon sped off.

...

Clair had left Arias in utmost haste, her foolish father and friends needed saving! She and a few of her subordinates had bundled up to prep for the trip then sped off on foot for Kirlsa with the plan to head over the mountain. When Rouge explained that it was a bad idea to send even more people over the mountain, Clair's response was simple, "We'll just figure that out when we get there."

So now they were on their way to Kirlsa, they'd gone about a mile when Clair's subordinate Aster cried out, "Watch out!"

Immediately they all snapped into fighting stances, prototypically the words watch out meant a monster was coming, but Neither Rouge or Clair saw anything when Clair asked, "What is it?"

Aster pointed off in front of them, "Over there!"

Both of his comrades followed where he pointed and noticed the same thing. A large horse drawn wagon was speeding down the road towards them like a bat out of hell! They all quickly leapt out of its way, but as it passed, they were greeted with quite the crazy sight! The driver of the Cart didn't have ahold of the reigns and was laughing like a maniac, he heeded the spectators no mind. On the back of the wagon an old man was desperately holding some large bundle onto the wagon, trying hard to keep the item from falling out. Though the craziest sight was on the side of the moving wagon. A blue haired man was hanging upside down off the side about a foot away from his face crashing into the ground. The only thing preventing this was an even larger blonde man hanging over the side holding onto the blue haired man's leg. Most impressive was the small Menodix that stood with his feet planted in the cart holding onto the blond man's pants, keeping both the men from flying away out of the cart. This all was seen in a flash when the cart passed, quickly Clair's subordinate Aster yelled in shock as the cart disappeared towards Arias, "Wasn't that your father on the back of that cart Lady Clair!?

Clair's jaw had dropped, she rose it long enough to answer, "It was, and that was Cliff and Fayt hanging off the side of that thing!"

Unlike the others, Rouge seemed less shocked, more excited, "I think that was Albel driving the cart," the dark-haired woman took off running towards Arias, "Come on! I want to challenge him to a match!"

Quickly all of them bolted towards Arias in pursuit of the runaway wagon.

...

Upon reaching Arias, Clair's group immediately began searching for the wagon, soon to find it parked in front of her father's house. Aster was sent to check in at headquarters as Rouge and Clair made their way around Adray's house and walked up to his smithy shop out back. Outside of it, staring up at the cloudy sky stood Albel, who glanced at the two approaching women, he didn't pay any more mind than that, just looked back up towards the sky. At sight of him, Rouge walked right up to him, "Albel! Do you remember me?"

Albel didn't look down from the sky as he answered, "You're Rouge. Leader of the Demon Legion."

Rouge didn't speak it, but she was pleased that he remembered her as she spoke, "Want to do some sparring!? I've improved a ton since our last battle!"

He looked down and walked past her, "Let's go."

Rouge glanced at Clair, "Later Clair."

Clair nodded, "Don't die."

As those two descended towards Adray's outdoor training ground, Clair stepped into the Smithy shop, the first thing she noticed was how the fire had warmed the room and her skin responded with pleasure. When she glanced towards the fire she saw both Fayt and Adray leaned over it melding some small pieces of metal, she shook off the shock from seeing her father wearing a vest on his typically bare torso as she continued surveying the room. On the opposite side of the building she spotted Roger fast asleep in a chair, after smiling at the Kid's cute state she spotted a target in the middle of the room, quickly remembering her intent in coming over here in the first place. Cliff met her eye contact and saw the irritancy on her face, he knew what was coming so he laughed out an, "Uh oh."

When she heard him say it she puffed up her cheeks in anger, Cliff just found it cute, which fueled his next statement as she walked up to him, "You sure look cute when you're mad."

She stuck her arms to her side defiantly in balled fists, "What the heck is wrong with you, how could you be so reckless! That was pure idiocy to cross that mountain!"

At this Fayt and Adray both looked over, seeing what was happening Fayt whispered to Adray, "Looks like he's getting one of your usual lectures."

Adray smiled to himself, "This is going perfectly."

They watched as Cliff responded, "Please, it's nothing that we can't handle. So, no worries, right?"

She got right up in his face, craning her neck to look up at the tall man, "Yes worries! I was worried sick about you! What if you got stuck and froze to death!?"

Cliff laughed, watching the reserved girl unconsciously fighting her natural calm demeanor was fun, "Look, we're okay, and we got what we needed to finish the house out there, sorry you were worried, but we've really been through far worse."

The lightbulb clicked in her head, "You got all the materials?"

Cliff nodded, "Yeah, Arzei donated it all."

Her tone immediately softened as she looked towards Fayt and her Father, "Thank you all," she walked to the door to leave, "But next time be smart about how you do it please, no need dying for a few materials."

All three answered her in unison, "Yes mam."

Once she was gone, Cliff spoke to Adray, "I'm surprised, she sure can be a tiny little firecracker."

Adray laughed, "She IS my daughter."

Cliff nodded, then grinned, "Lightning in a bottle."

Fayt laughed, "Perfect Metaphor."

Cliff glanced back at the door she'd walked out of before he spoke to his friends, "So how are those tools coming along?"

...

They were simple, but Fayt had made a few screws and a screwdriver to make the window installation as easy as possible. After that, the small house they'd built had windows in a flash, they simply bordered the glass with wood to make a frame, then Fayt screwed them in. The last thing to test was the fireplace they'd installed, so Roger and Adray built a fire while Fayt and Cliff headed to find Clair in the Arias headquarters. Upon reaching the building they made their way down the hallway where they knew the main hall sat the last time they'd come to the planet. Fayt railed on the door, it hailed a random male voice to speak, "You may enter."

They stepped into the room to see four men sitting at the large table that occupied the bulk of the place, two men Fayt recognized from the prior day, "Hey Leon, Dante, how's it going?"

Dante spoke up, "Oh! Hey guys, were just going over mission details here, what brings you here?"

Fayt answered, "We finished up that first house and wanted to let Clair know."

Dante answered again, "Oh, that's cool! Well she should be here soon."

"Cool," was Fayt's simple reply. No time passed when one of the two men Fayt didn't know came up and extended a hand to Fayt, he spoke from under a mop of red hair, "So you're Fayt, great to meet you! I'm Aster! The other guy over there is Vaan."

Fayt shook his hand, "Nice to meet you two!"

Aster then shook Cliff's hand, "So you must be Cliff?"

Cliff spoke in his typical booming voice, "That's right, Cliff Fittir, nice to meet ya."

Vaan came walking around the table, "So you're the guy who's wooed Lady Clair!"

Fayt gave Cliff a humored look when Cliff laughed, "Am I? I wasn't aware she was wooed."

Aster pried, "So did she ask you yet?"

Cliff didn't know what he was talking about, "Ask me what?"

Aster went to answer when he noticed the angry figure in the doorway, "Never mind, I'll just stay out of it."

Clair had just walked in with Rouge, but apparently, they were there long enough to hear what was said, so she gave her best death glare to Aster, inspiring the man to scoot across the room away from them. The silver haired woman walked up as Cliff asked, "What did you need to ask me?"

Cliff and Fayt knew it was probably juicy, so they weren't' surprised when Clair ignored it, "It's nothing, did you two need something?"

Cliff decided against teasing her and answered, "Yeah, we finished the first house."

Clair smiled broadly, "Already!? Is it ready for someone to move in?"

Fayt answered, "Well we can insulate the walls later, but it's certainly fine for someone to come move in."

Clair stepped past them and called to all her subordinates, "Let's go get one of the families at the church moved in before the day is out!"

Everyone save Rouge stood up when Clair shifted focus to Fayt and Cliff again, "Meet us at the house?"

Cliff nodded, "Sure."

The room was quickly emptied, leaving Rouge in the room, she stood up and went to leave as well when they noticed her face was all beat up, Fayt called to her, "Rouge!?"

She had just stepped into the archway of the door, she leaned back and popped her head around the corner to answer, "What's up?"

Fayt cocked one eye, "What the heck happened to you?"

Rouge laughed aloud, "Albel kicked my ass again!"

She continued laughing all the way out of the building, Cliff sighed, "Crazy chick."

Fayt put it simply, "Bonkers."

...

The smiles on everyone's faces were broad as two young boys bounced all around in their new house. Fayt and Cliff gave Adray and Roger a simple thumb up to express the mutual pride they all felt watching this family just about cry of happiness for receiving a new home. Clair and her soldiers didn't make it easy to be humble when they spoke unabashed gratitude. It got even worse when the mother of the two boys started crying out some thanks, planting a soft kiss on the cheeks of all four men involved in building the place. Roger sat twitter pated afterwards, but the other three stepped out of the house along with Clair and her soldiers. Cliff stood next to Clair, he stuck his palm out and caught a few small snowflakes then spoke with a boom, "Well, we still have about half a day of light," the Klausian glanced to Fayt, "How about we get another one of these up before nightfall?"

Fayt nodded, "Let's do it!"

The Runologist Vaan stepped forward, "Do you mind if I help, I'd like to watch the way you built it?"

Fayt nodded, "Sure, we could use the extra hands."

Clair spoke for the rest of her soldiers, "Well, what if we all help?"

Fayt nodded again, "Let's do it then!

In the next few hours a whole new house went up. Everyone present knew how hard of a worker Adray was, but Fayt, Cliff, and Roger's work ethic blew these Elicoorians away. They learned quickly how to help and build on their own. So, it all flew buy quickly, another of the homeless families was moved in right as night fell. To celebrate, Adray invited everyone out to get drinks at the small Arias Tavern. So now that night had fallen, the snow had slowed, and the Tavern was lively with a powerful toast. Adray stood on a table with a pint of alcohol held high, everyone present held theirs up with him as he yelled, "To our friends Fayt, Cliff, and Roger! Whose presence has brought nothing but good in our town!"

Several Runologist's in the tavern sat at a long table together and yelled, "YEAH!" They all took a large swig of their booze as Adray hopped down from the table, his daughter sitting down next to him shook her head with a slight blush, "Father, must you be so obnoxious?"

Adray's response was a booming laugh, he patted his daughter on the shoulder, "Lighten up Clair! This is a celebration!"'

She shook her head and smiled at his antics, it was bewildering how someone so calm could have been bred via Adray, most people assumed that Clair's mom must have been the most passive person who'd ever lived. This line of thinking fueled Fayt, who sat across from them at the table, to laugh, "It's funny seeing the contrast between you two like this."

Cliff sat next to Fayt, the Klausian took a big swig from his own pint and boomed, "I agree with Adray, you should lighten up Clair!"

Clair made a small sour face at Cliff when the whole table of her subordinates jeered, Rouge being the leader, she sat right next to Clair and slid a drink towards her friend, "Drink something Clair!"

Around the table they all joined in. Aster, Vaan, Leon, Dante, Rouge, Adray, Cliff, and Fayt all cheered, "Drink! Drink! Drink!"

Clair picked up her drink ever so daintily, "To Cliff, Fayt, Roger, And my Father."

She proceeded to take a small sip of the booze, everyone cheered with one massive breath as a response to her caving. She sat the drink back down and spoke to Cliff, "Happy now?"

The Klausian smiled broadly at her, "Oh yeah!"

Clair shook her head again with a smile on her face when Aster posed a question towards Fayt and Cliff, "So guys, what the heck was happening with that wagon earlier?"

Clair and Rouge both felt a light bulb go off as Cliff laughed, "Oh that was a damn blast wasn't it?"

Clair followed up, "What did happen?"

Fayt got a tad fired up, "We were driving when one of those small goblin monsters stepped out in the road and threw knifes at us! Albel was driving, one of those knives nearly hit him and stuck into the wagon next to his head! Instead of stopping to just fight it, Albel started laughing like a mad man and just sped the horses up!"

The earthling had pushed all that out with a single breath, when he stopped to breath he noticed how into the story everyone was, Aster pried further, "Then what happened!?"

Fayt threw his hands up in the air and stood with vitriol, "That crazy bastard actually ran over the damn goblin! The horses freaked out and started getting erratic, Albel lost control of the wagon! Then we go over a big hill, hit a rock and I went flying out of the wagon when I tried to grab the reigns!"

Everyone save Clair began laughing like crazy, Fayt kept ranting, "If Cliff hadn't caught me I would have face planted, Roger had to lift both of us up of the side of the wagon, and all the glass we worked hard to get was nearly busted, Sheesh!"

Fayt's anger didn't seem to be mutually shared, they all were slapping their knees and falling over laughing, obviously the alcohol had taken its effect. Fayt returned to his seat when Clair asked, "How did you stop the wagon."

Cliff and Adray made their way up to the bar to order more drinks as Fayt answered, "Your dad jumped on one of the horses and calmed it down."

Rouge cut in, "Leave it to Adray...Hey," the dark haired drunken beauty had a thought, "Where the heck ARE Albel and Roger?"

Fayt thought, "Oh, those two, they went to train I think."

After that, the party was bright for several more hours.

...

"So, what do you think mam?"

Three sullen faced women sat secluded in a dense forest clearing around a fire. Night had turned the area pitch black. The mood shown on their faces was all one needed to ascertain that something was amiss. The question that broke the silence was intended for the leader of the three. As an air bubble popped inside a piece of firewood the leader took a breath. She stared into the fire from underneath a mop of long red hair as she softly spoke, "We don't have a choice, one of us will have to go back now, the other two will follow after we do one more check on the gate."

"Which one of us should head back now mam?"

The Leader thought for just a moment before her soft voice passed through the darkness, "You go Tynave."

...

A familiar scene fell upon Adray's home in Arias. Night had fallen as Cliff and Clair sat together upon the small loveseat that faced the fireplace, a dark brown blanket pulled over the two of them. Around the room several other people lay asleep, Albel sat with his back against a wall in a corner, one hand on his Katana, one leg bent at the knee held the other arm, and his head lay drooped in slumber. Roger was curled up asleep within a blanket in front of the raging fireplace. In a strange turn of events, Fayt had passed out in the large bay window sill once again. The earthling was mumbling to himself in his sleep when Clair commented, "Is he alright?"

The massive man who sat quietly next to her glanced at his friend across the room, "He should be okay...I feel bad though, he said he didn't feel like drinking again. At least I cut him off this time."

Clair watched Fayt roll over in his sleep before turning her focus back to Cliff, "He sure does mumble a lot in his sleep."

Cliff gazed about the fire that burned before them, "He doesn't always do that, here lately he's been having rough dreams making it hard to sleep, he mumbles a lot during them."

Clair nodded, "I see, did something happen to trigger them?"

Up till this point, they'd been sitting on opposite sides of the loveseat, but as he replied with an ever so slightly concerned tone, Cliff shifted long ways and put his legs out next to Clair's lap, "I'm not sure, he started having the dreams about a month ago, apparently, they're always about people in his life getting hurt...it kind of makes me worried it's a precognition thing, but nothing bad happened yet. It should do him good to see all our friends are safe and sound. Either way, all the more reason why this training trip is good for him, Hell, it at least gives him a break from school. That guy works harder than anyone I've ever met."

Clair hadn't expected such a thorough explanation, but she had listened eagerly through the entire thing. She waited for him to pause long enough to be sure he was done before she spoke with warmth, "It's nice to see how much you care about him."

Cliff scratched the back of his head bashfully, "Well, he is family."

Suddenly, Cliff was given a jolting shock. Clair had always kept her long silvery brown hair pulled into massive long pony tails, but for the first time ever the Klausian watched as she untied the long black wraps that held the ponytails in place. The hair fell to its natural state, framing her face. Had Cliff ever thought her pretty face could never grow even more alluring, he certainly would have been proven wrong in that moment. Something about flowing hair just added an essence of femininity that would always crush even the most modest of men, and Cliff was no exception. However, Cliff being bolder than your average man, made note of this as he looked into her eyes, the vibrant pools seemed unnaturally large in the dark shaded room, "Man, you sure do look gorgeous with that hair down."

Clair smiled at him, a little boldness of her own kept her focused through the light flutter, "Thank you."

She was relieved when he broke eye contact to watch the fire, it gave her an opportunity to let go of the tight hold she held on her blush. After the fluster passed, she asked, "Are the two of you going to be on the planet through the end of this week?"

Cliff laid even farther back on the loveseat, snuggling in as Clair shifted her legs to adjust for the massive man's movement, he ended up on his back, looking up at the roof as he answered, "Yup, that is the plan."

"Then there is something I'd like to ask of you."

Cliff was sleepy as he answered, perhaps the days earlier alcohol was beginning to get at him, "What's up?"

Clair spoke calmly, just a slight hint of anxiousness was traceable, but Cliff missed it in his lumbering state, "At the end of this week, In Aquious, the castile is having its annual Winter Fete...would you care to accompany me there?"

Cliff's eyes widened a tad, "What, like a date?"

Clair stayed the path, "Well, you would be my escort, so I suppose it's like a courtship."

Cliff sat up, laughing quietly as he did so, the action brought him just a foot away from Clair's face, "Courtship, what a fancy way to say date."

Just then he noticed the embarrassed blush on her face, so instead of picking at the girl, he answered directly, respecting the woman's need to hold onto her propriety in a nervous moment, "I'd love to go on a date with you, will there be food there?"

The beauty beamed, the propriety was gone now, given way to excitement, "Yes! The best cooks from all over Aquaria!"

Cliff fell backwards back to his lying down position, "Then you've got yourself an escort."

Clair balled up the elation to the best of her ability, but it leaked, "Excellent!"

Cliff thought a moment, "Not often a lady asks me out! Though I should warn you, fancy dos aren't my thing, so I'll only want to dance a little before I hit the food table."

Clair giggled, "Fine with me, I'll join you at the food table since I'm not so light footed myself."

Cliff gave her a thumbs up, "Deal!"

They grew silent after that, Clair stared into the fire for a while as Cliff fell asleep. Then she slowly gave way to slumber herself, rolling around until she and Cliff made quite the pretzel on the couch. So night fell, in slow pursuit of the next day.

* * *

 **There will be more soon!**


End file.
